Senior Year
by Bittersweet Romanticide
Summary: Misty Williams is about to graduate from Goldenrod High School. All she has to do is work off a new bike, tutor Ash Ketchum, help May ask Drew to a dance, and figure out a relationship with Gary Oak. She can do that, right? Poke, Ego, Contest, Penguin
1. The Boy and the Bike

Are you reading a high school story in the pokémon fanfiction section?

_Really?_

There are only two possible reasons for this. One is that you enjoy the form of torture that is the common high school fic. The other is that you have read my works before, and acknowledging that I am truly a goddess among men, know that whatever I put out on this site will be fantastic. Because I'm famous. I mean, I totally am. People see me in school and they're like, "Hey, could you get out of my way?" and I'm all, "Why yes, I am that girl from fanfiction. How did you know when I don't even have a picture up?" and then they give me a look that I can only imagine is one of admiration before they walk away, completely speechless at my infamy.

Oh, self-deprecating humor. I simply _slay _myself.

Anywho, there's a fic under this line based off of _Snapshots Make the Story_. You might want to check on it, if that's why you clicked this link, but don't blame me if you're disappointed.

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**The Boy and the Bike**

Misty didn't remember any time before she had started going to boarding school. She honestly didn't remember her first day in Goldenrod except for the bright pin they had stuck into her shirt that had her badge and her name on it, right before they pushed her out into the crowd of kids to see how she would react. It had gone well. She hadn't hit anybody, hadn't yelled. She didn't exactly make friends, but she was much too busy spending her time crawling under the table and burying her head in her knees.

A big League person (she couldn't remember who it was now) had scooped her up and asked her what was wrong, that she had been to daycare before. Misty said that she knew that the test would come, and if she passed her parents would send her away. If she failed, her parents would be mad at her – especially since her sisters had gotten in and Misty was supposed to be the smart one. She was the one with a talent for pokémon.

Sometimes she felt like she was still stuck on that day. It was weird, because her parents were dead now, but as she flipped the switches on her suitcase and claimed her room, she couldn't help but feel like she should have been doing something else. She felt like the only thing bringing her back were her parents, nicely encouraging her from their graves to keep up the good work, to be the amazing girl they always knew she could be. Oh, she would be a Gym Leader. Maybe she would be an Elite. But stick to water types. It was her specialty. And practice, practice holding your breath so you can be the best water trainer to ever live.

She locked the suitcase and put it in her closet, carefully kneeling to stare at what she had put on the floor. It was her last year in Goldenrod, in this big boarding school before she went off to her career. Misty was sure she should be unpacking, getting her room ready for the last big blowout. She found, however, that she had never wanted to do anything less. So, instead of unpacking, she closed her closet door, closed the door to her dorm room, then curled up on her mattress, bare of sheets and pillows.

Misty Williams was eighteen, and next year would be the last time the world offered her anything thanks to the golden, sparkling city that glinted outside her dorm window. Next year she would have a gym to tend to. Maybe, if she was especially lucky, Lorelei would make good on her offer and train her to be one of the Elite Four. And once she said yes, well, there really wasn't any leaving of that station. That was as high as you could go, the end of the line. Peaking at nineteen.

Then, a knock at her door, and a very cautious call of, "Misty? You there?"

Which was May. And there was no being disappointed or grumpy when May was around. So she sat up and dragged out her suitcase so it looked like she was unpacking, then raced to the door with a large fake smile. A twist of the handle, the door thrown aside, and she eyed the brunette who had grown quite a bit during the summer. Granted, most of that was the growth around her bust which Misty couldn't help but be the slightest bit jealous of, but May had still gotten taller and seemed a bit bolder than when she had left at the end of last year.

"Who's your roommate?" she asked.

"Dawn, a freshman. Uh, blue hair, blue eyes. She's a coordinator, and she's drop dead gorgeous." May giggled, grabbing onto her hand. "Mew, you have to see her! She's like this perfectly made little porcelain doll, it's so freaky. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've tried to touch her just to see if she's real."

"Is she nice?"

"So far, yeah." May nodded slowly. "So, do you have a roomie this year, or did you manage to weasel out of it and get a room all to yourself?"

"I didn't weasel out of it. I had a roommate! She was really nice, looked a lot like you actually." She shrugged slightly, trying to keep the grin off her face. "Then, out of nowhere, she suddenly decided that she didn't want to room with me. She said that my room was haunted, and that she had a friend she'd rather room with, and that was it. I don't know why. I mean, you know that this room isn't haunted. I've had it for the past three years."

"You didn't fake a ghost, did you?" She gasped.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Misty!"

She laughed, sweeping past the girl and walking backwards down the hall. "So, this Dawn girl. Do you think she'll be good man bait?"

"Oh, don't," May groaned.

"What?"

"I _like _this girl. This isn't like the time I roomed with Sara and I just tolerated her. Dawn's in the same field as me, she likes the same stuff as me, she seems pretty nice and…" May sighed, catching up with the redhead and slinging their arms together, guiding her down the hall to her room. "Yeah, I suppose she'll be good man bait."

"Attagirl." Misty giggled. "How was your summer?"

"Pretty good, actually. I even texted Drew and he texted me back. We had, like, entire conversations."

"That is the dumbest sentence I have ever heard you say."

"Well, how was _your _summer?" she accused hotly. "Did you meet any boys?"

A few flashes of memories that involved men winking at her through the door of the gym and thick, bundled up piles of love letters in the mail that smelled like perfume and chocolate, forests of flowers that swamped the family room that she didn't especially want, but they looked so lovely and smelled so fresh that she couldn't bring herself to throw them all away. That wasn't what May had meant, though. May was asking if Misty had met any boys – not if Misty the Gym Leader had met any boys.

She frowned a bit. "You said Dawn's a freshman?"

"Don't stuff her in trashcan, please. Senior rights be damned, she's a nice kid."

And, suddenly, a blue haired girl was laughing, running down the hall with a pokeball in hand, and a boy who was most _definitely _not supposed to be in the girls' dorm chasing down behind her. With a twist, she snuck behind the two girls, using them as a shield against the redheaded boy who kept snatching for his pokeball, protesting "It's mine, Dawn! Come on!" This gave Misty the time to notice that Dawn was, in fact, as pretty as a china doll, and that the boy had noticed it too.

"I don't know if you deserve your pokeball back, Kenny," she taunted. "You barely made it into the school as it is. I remember _someone _checking the label of his water bottle for answers to the entrance exam."

"You wrote all the answers on your legs and lifted up your skirt because you knew nobody would be allowed to look!"

She winked. "But _I'm _the one who got a perfect score."

"Give me that, Dee Dee," he muttered, snatching the pokeball back.

"Don't call me Dee Dee!" she snapped, putting her hands on her hips and emerging from the girls. "Besides, you're not allowed to be here in the girls' dorm. So, if you don't want me to go and tattle on you and get me expelled, you better leave and never, ever call me Dee Dee as long as you live."

"I wouldn't be here if you hadn't…!" he began furiously, then shook his head sadly, saying his goodbyes and marching out the door.

Misty grinned. "I don't think I will throw you in a trashcan, frosh."

"Senior?" she asked.

"Yup."

"Thank you." She giggled. "Spread the word to your fellow seniors about how awesome I am."

"How do you feel about man bait position?"

"Mmm, feels like home all over again."

"I like your roommate."

May moaned, "Oh, Mew. There's _two of them._"

"I'm heading down to check out this problem," Misty said awkwardly. "The science teacher? The new one? Banner or something. He gave me a B plus and I worked damn hard on that thing. I mean, two sturdy weeks of studying and writing and I'm not saying that I deserve a perfect one hundred, but anything under an A is just ridiculous."

"You're ranting," May cautioned.

She laughed. "Right, sorry, but I worked so damn hard on that stupid thi-"

"You're such a grade grubber," she teased. "Though I figured you'd be more upset over the brand new public school transfer kid. He's getting a free ride all this year, plus I'm pretty sure a scholarship to any college of his choosing, plus Lance wants him as his student. He's not even from money or a gym or a title or anything. I mean, this is some big news for Goldenrod's golden standards."

"Is he cute?" Dawn asked eagerly. "I bet he's like a farm boy and he had a hot tan and always walks around in nothing but jeans with hot guy muscles."

"How old are you?" Misty asked suspiciously.

"Fourteen."

"Wow. Puberty hit you hard, didn't it?" She shook off the weird feeling and looked back at May. "What do I care about some hick from Pallet Town? He's got a battling scholarship and a public school education. He'll screw the curve with his bad grade, but all it's going to do is help me because I'm on the smart people side of the bell curve, as represented by the fact that I actually know what a bell curve is."

"He's supposed to be the best battler they've seen in ages."

Dawn giggled, bouncing on her heels. "Ooh, I hope he's hot. The only hot guy I've seen is Paul and Ricky and Archie and kind of Kenny and-"

Misty clicked her tongue. "Oh, cutie, you need to see a doctor because you are way too excited about boys."

"But I like how they make me feel tingly." She wiggled her fingers at the older girls.

"And even if Ash is an awesome battler, he'll be a trainer when and if he graduates. I'll be a leader. There's no competition there. Secondly, they've been asking every honor roll senior if they'd be interested in a job as a tutor."

"Ooh, did you say yes?" May asked.

"No way! It's my senior year! I'm spending my year playing video games, reading books, and illegally downloading all the music I can get my hands on."

"But he's hot! Why would you pass him up?"

"Dawn, you haven't even seen him yet!" May cried. "And, really, I'm starting to think you really do need to go see a specialist."

"Especially if you think that anyone from Pallet could ever be crush worthy." She laughed. "The only good things that have ever come out of that crappy little town are the Oaks and corn."

"You're really not curious?" May pushed.

Dawn's face lit up. "When he comes, we can stalk him from the bushes!"

Misty rolled her eyes. "That's the dumbest thing I have ever heard."

May blushed. "Uh, I kind of think it sounds like fun as long as we don't follow him into the shower or anything."

"Oh, thank Mew. I thought I was just going as crazy as blue eyes over here," she said in a rush, grabbing May's elbow and tugging her down the hall. "Let's go creep on the new kid and get me my A! The A comes first though."

"Grade grubber."

"And who has the higher GPA? Grade grubber or settler?"

"As long as A stands for hot boy ass, I'll go anywhere!" Dawn chirped.

May made a pitiful sounding whine. "Oh, Dawn, you…Oh, _Dawn_."

**

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**

The last time Ash remembered his heart beating so fast was when he was six and he ignored his mother's warnings about watching _Courage the Cowardly Dog_. He guessed it probably thundered like this when he did something especially outrageous or exciting, like riding a pigeot or a tauros he found in Oak's field or chasing after a wild pokémon with a rock and his loyal Pikachu at his side, but he never noticed when those things happened. In his new home (and it made him wince to realize he would be staying there for quite some time) there was nothing to distract him from his fear of rushing cars and endless concrete and the absolutely crushing feeling that he was completely and utterly alone.

He wasn't alone, of course. He had his pokémon on his belt, safely tucked away in their pokeballs, and he always had Pikachu on his shoulder. He rubbed the sweet little mouse on her ears, and she "cha'd" at his touch. She hated the place as much he did, and couldn't offer him any comfort. The poor thing was shaking against him and nudging at his hand and laying her ears flat against her head to avoid the frightening noise of the city.

"It's okay, girl."

"Pika," she whimpered, trying to hide inside his shirt.

"There's nothing here to hurt you."

Which there wasn't, really. Pikachu knew that. However, she also knew that there were three human females prowling around in the bushes behind them, which she wasn't nearly so fond of. They didn't smell like they had any bad intent for either her or her trainer, but they acted like predators, with their hiding and lurking and the occasional mechanical click of a chain. She flicked her ears, catching sounds and snatched of "…left your bike at school" and "I have to go into…" and "…amazing butt!", all of which Ash seemed unable to hear.

So Pikachu turned, leapt to the ground, sat back on her haunches and released a strong stream of electricity into the bushes. It wasn't anything deadly, not by a long shot, but it was enough to seriously sting something human sized. Then, seeing most of it detracted by the bike, she poured it on harder until the girls shrieked and jumped out. Knowing who the girls were relaxed her, and she jumped up to Ash's shoulder to investigate from a safe distance.

"Why'd you sick your mouse on us?" the redhead fumed. "You have some nerve! Don't you know that pokémon are supposed to be in their pokeballs at all times on campus? And it's against Kanto's laws to directly call on a pokémon to attack a human. I don't know what backwards hillbilly laws they had in Pallet, but there are real laws here."

"Pikachu attacked on her own," he argued.

"Why?" May yelped. "We didn't do anything to it!"

Ash blinked. "Well, in Pallet, nice people don't hide in bushes."

"My bike!" Misty shrieked, grasping the charred hunk of metal with apparent horror. "How am I supposed to get home?"

"I told you he'd be hot," Dawn squealed.

"We were just _electrocuted_!" May hissed.

"You feel it, too?"

"I'm sorry," Ash said awkwardly. "Do you live aro-?"

"No! I'm a student! I take the train to Kanto and I bike home! It's too far to walk and now I can't even get to the stores! I can't believe you were so inconsiderate to just fry my bike without thinking about the consequences. You better buy me a new one!"

His brows knitted together. "But you were stalking me in the bushes."

"So?"

"Doesn't that…isn't that self defense, then? I mean, it's not like Pikachu wasn't provoked. So, it's, uh, your fault, isn't it?"

She blushed, wondering exactly how bad the circumstances were and how much trouble she would be in for frightening Goldenrod's new prize student. If he was really Lance's special project, she doubted he would get kicked out anytime soon. That didn't stop her blustering and she hissed, "You still owe me a bike."

It was at this time Ash noticed that Misty had red hair, and remembered a few of Gary's snarky comments relating to redheads, often about their temper and distantly wondered if this was where Gary had gotten the stereotype from. If that was the case, then she was probably… "Mary? From Cerulean City?" he asked.

"Misty. How'd you know?" She glared. "I don't have an accent, I know. I spend more time here than-"

"I saw one of your water shows when I was little, with my mom. You weren't in it. You announced it or something." He grinned. "Do you get to go into the shows now that you're older?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you trying to change the subject?"

"Missy, I can't afford a bike."

She groaned. "Misty, you dunce. And you have a scholarship mister…mister whoever the hell you are. I'm sure you can afford to pay me back in installments over the next few months."

"I get five dollars a week," he countered.

"What?"

"I only get five dollars a week. I have to eat in the school all the time and stuff. My mom only makes money by selling her pies and things. She sends me some extra cash, which is usually five dollars."

"You can't live on that. Why doesn't your dad send you money?"

"I'm really sorry about the bike, Misty, but I can't do anything. If you hadn't hid in the bushes, it wouldn't have happened." And, blushing, he turned away and headed into the building.

"Misty, why'd you have to chase him off?" May scolded. "He looked really upset."

"What do I care about some kid with daddy issues?" she muttered. "Why don't you go show him around, since you like him so much?"

"Will do." May winked. "Call me when you finish sulking."

That ended that, and May gleefully skipped off to Ash's side, who really did look quite upset after the whole incident. "You know, if you're looking for the boys' dorm you're going the wrong way. If you're going to see the principal, I know a quicker way to get there."

He blinked at her. "Uh, principal. Thanks." He laughed a bit. "I don't know where I'm going."

"It's complicated in some places, but you'll pick it up quick," she soothed. "And don't worry about Misty, because she always gets upset when things don't go just her way. She'll get over it in a few hours and you'll get along fine."

"You think?" he asked, smiling.

"Why?" she taunted. "Gonna ask her out?"

He blushed, shaking his head. "No, I'm not just used to making enemies. I mean, if I knew it was just you in there I would have-"

"Oh, Mew, don't worry. We were hiding in the bushes, you're new, you're scared, it happened. We're the ones who screwed up." She spun in front of him. "Don't you dare pay Misty a cent. She can get her own money just fine if she really wants. She just wants to use her free time to play games rather than getting a job."

"But I don't need the money."

"Neither does she! She gets fifty bucks a week, which doesn't include her dorm or anything. She cooks fine for herself, she goes to the movies, she goes to restaurants all with me. She can get a job or give up luxuries if she wants a bike."

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me – just don't pay her. She's already started her senior slide. Oh, sure, she won't unpack, but she'll chase down a teacher for an A. She's such a freak, and I don't even know what's going on with Dawn." She paused. "Sorry, you don't want to hear me complain."

"No, it's fine." It felt like friendship, and that was nice. "But, um, I'm supposed to see Elite Lorelei?"

"I know. It's up here on the left," she said, pointing to the staircase they were coming up to. "Is it for your classes?"

"I think so."

"Try to get the craft class. It's an easy A, a nice teacher, and I do teacher's aide for it. If you need help or directions or someone to talk to, I'll be there. As long as you don't get first period. I have an actual class then."

"Thanks."

She rubbed Pikachu carefully behind the ears, and the mouse allowed it, although a bit hesitant at a stranger's fingers. "You're going to do fine, Ash. I'm May Maple, I'm a sophomore, and a coordinator. Most importantly, you've got your first friend, and that's the hardest part. It's smooth sailing from here."

"Unless Misty wants to kick my ass."

May laughed in a way that didn't make him feel better at all and walked away without another word. So Ash went inside with a reassuring lick on the cheek from Pikachu. The room was surprisingly small and plain with nothing more than carpet and bookshelves and one large desk surrounded by the chairs. He sat in one and watched the busy looking redhead flick through papers while someone angrily chatted on the phone.

"Your son doesn't do his homework, ma'am. That's why he's failing his classes." She listened. "We've tried. We've talked to him and we've kept him in study halls, we've given him detention, and he's still not participating." The yelling got louder at the other end. "To a point, yes, but after that it's his responsibility and your boy isn't stepping up to the plate." The yelling continued and, with a sigh, Lorelei hung up and smiled at Ash.

"Don't worry, your mother is much nicer to talk to." She leaned forward. "And aren't you a handsome young boy? I can't wait to see how the girls crawl over you!"

He laughed a little. "I don't want them to. I'm just here to battle."

"That's good, because that's why we called you here. Lance handpicked you after he saw you battling Gary Oak. He said you had a kind of raw talent he'd never seen, and I've never heard that man praise anyone so highly." She arched a brow. "I almost expected you to glow."

"Do I?"

"Why, Mr. Ketchum, you almost do." She held his gaze for much too long, then spun to her computer. "We have you in Math, English, Pokémon Care, Battling, History and French."

"Do I need French?"

She smirked. "Would you rather learn Latin?"

"French," he sighed. "Can I have the crafts class?"

"Last period, but you lose one of your study halls."

"That's fine. I have a friend in there."

She grinned. "A girl."

"She's just a friend."

"I'm sure," she said, and did in fact sound like she believed him. "And, from the looks of it, you'll be needing a tutor. Any objections?"

"Tutors get mad at me," he said nervously.

"Alright," she said and her printer whirled into life as she printed the schedule. Pikachu, being the curious monster she was, leapt up onto the machine and pressed an ear to it, listening to it work, then darting back and forth and paper went in one end and flew out warm and covered in quickly drying ink on the other side. "Do you need any help finding the boy's dorm?"

"I'm meeting Gary in the cafeteria," he explained. "He's going to take me to my dorm later on and help me unpack my stuff."

She made a face. "Oh. Gary Oak."

He laughed, used to the reaction. "We're rivals, really, not friends."

"He's very bright, and he's nice enough," she said hurriedly. Lorelei shook her head. "But between the two of us, I think he would make a much better rival than a friend."

"He does," he said, and shook her hand. "Thank you ma'am."

"Enjoy yourself Ash." She smiled warmly, and he felt a genuine interest and care from her. "I'm sure you'll do just fine."

**

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**

The only thing Misty regretted in her actions was the same thing she regretted every time she did something stupid, and that was how quickly her school warped a rumor. Two days of texting and Chinese whispers had turned hiding in the bushes and spying on the new kid into stalking her long lost lover across campus, only to be rejected by him taking a baseball bat to her bike. That was not what happened, and she wanted to scream it from the rooftop.

She settled for dialing Daisy.

Since she was using a videophone in the middle of the courtyard, this left her open to set the gossip straight, provided she spoke loudly (not that that had ever been a problem). Most importantly, Misty wanted eye contact with her sister, so she could make her eyes big and round and pleading and be much more likely to get a new bike. Unfortunately, Daisy still had connections in Goldenrod, and she picked up looking quite pissed.

"What the _hell_, Misty?" she asked.

"It's not what you think!"

"Considering I'm being told you tried to rape a guy and he destroyed your bike for it, I really hope so!"

"There was no raping!" she shouted. "I just hid in the bushes and I swear that's all it is. May and Dawn and I just wanted to check out the new kid and he had a wild Pikachu or some crap, but that's it!"

"Why were you hiding in the bushes?"

"To spy on him. Dawn thought he was cute and we wanted to go see if he was! We were messing around!"

"Why didn't you just introduce yourself?"

"Because…" She felt her mouth hang open, surprised she didn't have a retort for that and concluded, "Since when have you been the voice of reason?"

"Since when are you crazy enough to sneak into bushes and follow a boy you have never met around campus?"

"Since…" She sighed, realizing she was stumped twice in one day. "Days, I really need a new bike."

"I heard, Red."

Her nose wrinkled at the nickname. "I can't get anywhere without a bike, and it'd cost more to fix the old one than to just buy a new one. If I could fix it, I would."

"Hey, you know how last year I got custody of you and I had nowhere to beg money from and had to help myself?"

"No," she muttered.

"Guess what? It's your turn!" she snapped, crossing her arms and rocking back in her seat. "I can't bail you out of this! You screwed up, kiddo. This is on you, and you have to fix it, not me, and definitely not that poor kid you freaked out."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Save your allowance. Public transportation. Get used to walking or," she gave a loud, exaggerated gasp, "get a job!"

"Bikes are pricey!"

"You can save up for one."

"But-"

"If you hadn't stalked around the kid because you wanted to check out his ass, you wouldn't have this problem."

"I was not checking him out!" Laughs burst from the yard, and she blushed, ducking her head. "I really wasn't."

"Sorry, Misty, but the gym is crunched for cash as it is."

"Why has the gym been slow? Have you had another losing streak?"

She stuck her tongue out, despite the fact that anyone could see her through the public video phone and she was substantially older than her little sister. "No. None of the kids are training here anymore. They all dropped out." She frowned, amending, "Well, not all, but a lot of them. Training's not as big anymore. There's too much other stuff. If you ask me, all these stupid pokémon sports never should have took off!"

"You'll get plenty in a while. The trainer's from last year should be about to start their journeys. They always start in the fall."

"It's not enough. We need to do shows again," she argued.

"Fine."

"On break, _you_ need to do shows."

"What?" she yelped, leaping up from the chair with the phone still securely fastened to her ear. "Absolutely not! You know how I hate doing those stupid shows and…and…and I can't get home anyway! So I'm not doing them!"

"If you want to graduate you'd better. We need all the extra cash we can get. The inheritance won't last forever, and the League isn't that generous."

"But I need a bike!" she shouted, stomping her foot and drawing attention.

"Well, you'll have to find a way to get one! That's what you get for hiding in the bushes and spying on the new hot kid!"

"What's wrong with hiding in the bushes? I couldn't help it! May was the one who got me to do it, but no one ever thinks of her because she's so innocent and _her _bike wasn't destroyed! And, thinking about that stupid bike, how the hell am I supposed to find a way to get a new one?" Several of the kids in the courtyard giggled, and Misty left, cheeks flaming as the rumors started.

So she did the only thing she knew to do when embarrassed, and that was to grab her things and race out to the large tanks where the water type pokémon were stored. She tossed her red drawstring bag into the bleachers, doing an awkward dance as she struggled to pull her clothes off and reveal the beat up, old, blue bathing suit she wore underneath. And, though she imagined it was only about sixty five degrees outside, she was finally out of what she considered sweltering heat.

Centuries of selective breeding of Kanto's finest gym leaders kept Misty immune to the cold. So while most of the other students had to slip on a wetsuit to swim in the pool, she dove in wearing a one piece bathing suit. She liked her advantage, even though it wasn't as useful as Koga and his family having an immunity to most poisons, or Surge being able to climb an electric fence or walk away from a taser, and certainly not Sabrina and her godly psychic powers. Still, it was nice to never have to wear a sweater and to swim with her favorite type of pokémon without worrying about getting hypothermia.

She was a strong swimmer, of course. She learned how to swim before she could walk, and adored the feeling of water sliding through her fingers and swirling around her feet as she went straight to the bottom and curled up with a cloyster and other bottom dwellers. And though there were air tubes at the bottom, she much preferred the rush of pounding up to the surface to get long, deep gasps of fresh air, the feeling of almost dying happening every three or four minutes.

Today was different, though, because an hour into her swim she had come to breathe again, and came face to face to face with Lance and Ash, the latter clearly getting a school tour from the former. He smiled and waved shyly, which she didn't return. She stroked to the side and hauled herself out of the water, losing her previous sense of weightlessness and hating the wet thud her body made on the concrete. On her next glance at the duo, Ash was gawking.

"What?" she snapped, checking over her one piece. It was fine. No rips, no holes and definitely nothing showing that she didn't want to. So her eyes snapped to him again and she shouted, "What?"

"Aren't you could?" he gasped, looking from her to the water.

"No."

"But it's forty degrees!" he cried.

"Is it?" she said curtly. She grabbed her towel from the bleachers, slinging it around her shoulders and grabbing up her bag. "I hadn't noticed."

"You're really not cold?" he asked, wondering.

"Have a good night, Master Lance," she said swiftly, striding out of the room.

She had seen Master Lance one or twice, mostly him speaking to the class at an assembly of some sort. One of the most powerful trainers to ever live, and one of the most skilled, was standing next to Ash Ketchum. The boy destroyed her bike, and Lance was taking an interest in him. She rested her head against the wall, shaking as her heart pounded against her ribcage and her knees weakened, realizing why some hick from Pallet Town was in her school, why some hick was really so important.

He was training to be the next Master of Kanto.

**

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**

So, this is an American school system. Not because I think it's better than any other, but because, sadly, it's the only one I know. If I knew the Japanese school system well enough, I would, but anytime I try researching it there are so many people claiming that this is a rumor and that's a rumor that I can't quite get it straight.

Also, it's in Fahrenheit. Because Celsius is hard. Well, granted, I could just type it in online, but that would involve an awful lot of effort for something which I know quite a few people who frequently read my stuff would just have to convert back. I'm sorry my foreign country friends. Your metric system really is a lot better, with all it's easy conversions and sensible standard across many countries.

And, last in my horrible amount of Author's Notes (I'm sorry, I really am), Hero is getting up. Unfortunately, we had to put my dog down, who I've had since I was four, and I needed something a bit lighter to work on. I hope you're not too disappointed in me!


	2. The First Day of School

I'm back!

And…wow. Really? You came back? Uh, well. This is awkward. I mean, I didn't think you would. I mean, the next six thousand words are just filled with me copying and pasting the lyrics to "Bye, Bye Birdie". I suppose I'll have to make a few alterations. Six thousand words of alterations. Honestly, that was inconsiderate of you, alerting and favorting and reviewing and coming back. How could you do that to me?

…Oh, what, you expected a thank you, reviewers? Pshaw! Not for you, slavedrivers!*

* * *

**The First Day of School**

May was just plain unlucky. It wasn't that she deserved it, she really didn't. She spent most of her time studying or hanging out with her friends. She wasn't a bully, she wasn't cruel and she never passed a donation bucket without throwing in her spare change. But sometimes, life just decides to play horrible tricks on good people, and that was the situation. May found herself stuck in as she strode into a class and found herself shoulder to shoulder with Drew, his green hair cut in a long, flippable style.

"Back for another year of humiliation?" he asked all too cheerfully.

She glanced down at his binders and notebooks and textbooks. Each binder was cloth each notebook was sturdy and name brand and each textbook was covered in a freshly bought book cover that announced what subject each book belonged to. In comparison, her binders were plastic from a dollar store, her paper was all loose leaf and tucked inside and her books were covered by paper bags from a local grocery store.

May glared. "I won the contest last year."

He smirked. "Sure, and you didn't go to a single dance."

"And you're the greatest thing ever because you got to go to all the dances with a bunch of hot girls?" she huffed.

"You sound jealous," he said, and flipped his hair.

"It looks stupid," she said hotly, "when you do your hair flip thing. You're going to give me whiplash and don't even tell me that girls find it hot."

"Plenty of girls do."

"Well, I'm not plenty of girls."

"May, Drew," the teacher said. They both looked over to see her standing at the desk in the back, tapping the counter to show their assigned seats. "I trust you not to cheat. Don't make me regret it."

She glared at the boy. "Considering I won't talk to you at all this year, I bet that it won't be a problem."

He snorted. "Really?"

"What's so funny about that?" she snapped, collapsing into her seat.

"This is a tag battle class." May moaned, cursing her luck to be poured with him, and slammed her had down on the desk with a pitiful moan. Meanwhile, Drew turned to the side to laugh wildly and clutch his stomach. "Seriously, do you pay any attention to your schedule?" he said, trying to stop his laughter. "It's the first class of the day and you don't even know what it is?"

"I found the room and I wasn't late, what do you want? It's the first day of school and I'm not used to waking up early yet." She glared. "And thinking about you as my partner isn't all that appealing, especially when it's for the whole year. Think if I ask nicely she'll let me trade with someone else?"

"Sure." He smirked. "Everyone wants me."

"Sorry?" she asked. "Everyone wants you?"

"Every kid wants me as their partner, especially the girls. I'm talented, especially when it comes to coordinating, and I'm handsome. Throw in my wonderful personality and you have the perfect partner."

"You're not a perfect partner."

"What am I lacking?"

"For starters, you're a sociopath."

"You don't know what that means."

"Do too. I took psychology last year and you're a sociopath. You don't care about anyone and you use them like tools. You appear charming, but you're totally evil. If we were partners you would use me all year and we would never work together."

"Well, you're pretty social."

"I am."

"And you're good at sharing."

"That does not make up for you sucking at it."

"Well, maybe you'll just so friendly we'll get along and make an amazing team."

Her eyes narrowed. "Do you sit in your room every night and think up ways to annoy me?"

"I have a notebook full of comebacks and insults," he said dryly. "I write in it every night before I go to bed like a diary."

"I freaking knew it."

He rolled his eyes. "May, I'm kidding."

"Yeah," she muttered. "Sure.

"You do know I'm kidding, right?" He blinked. "May?"

To say that May _knew _he was kidding was a bit of an overstatement. She was pretty sure that Drew was kidding, but the thought of him snickering to himself and thinking up jokes and insults every night before he went to sleep was awfully appealing. At the very least, it made her feel like she was definitely the wittier of the two, thinking hers up on the fly while he planned them out. So she gave him a grunt that she hoped sounded like she knew he was kidding, and ignored the suspicious looks he gave her throughout the class.

Thankfully, it was _only _that class she had with him. She merrily scooted along to her English class, her World History class, Math class and Biology with each teacher handing her a paper or packet that outlined the rules for the year. She was a diligent student, writing down that pencils only were to be used in Math and Biology, that everything was always double-spaced in English, and that her history teacher tolerated _no _racist jokes ("and yes I'm talking to _you, _David") under any circumstances.

She spent her study hall in the crafts class, taught by a very recently graduated man named Tracey Sketchitt. May met up with Ash, though, it being the first day, she was introduced at the beginning as "my helper, May" and then had to stand in the back while the teacher handed _them_ a rules sheet and went over what was and wasn't acceptable to do with expensive art products. She was just thrilled it was before lunch and after her study hall, which meant she had a long break in the middle of the day.

It was only her last class of the day where things became interesting again. She had done hours of careful schedule arranging to end up with Gym as her last period class. It was her last year of it, and only a _semester_ of it, before she could finally be done with dodgeball and cross-country racing and basketball, all of which ended up with her getting smacked in the face and sweaty. Having it as the last class of the day meant rushing right back to her room to take a shower. That way, she only smelled terrible for a short time _and _she got her shower out of the way early.

Then there was that huge smile in front of her, the boy just an inch taller than her despite him being a couple grades older, messy black hair and a Pikachu that seemed stapled to his shoulder. This was a pleasant and unpleasant surprise. Pleasant, because she liked Ash and was glad to have someone go through the most torturous class of the day with. Unpleasant because, although she wasn't thinking about dating him anytime soon, Ash was still an attractive boy and she did not want to get disgusting in front of him.

"You have this class, too?" he asked eagerly. "I guess I didn't have to worry, because I've been making friends all day, but it's still nice."

She smiled brightly, realizing that Ash wouldn't care even if she did smell gross and was probably polite enough not to comment on it. And, well, if all else failed, he _was _from a pretty rural area and there _were _a lot of farms in Pallet, so she doubted that he was a stranger to girls working up a sweat. "You made friends?"

"I met Brock and he's really nice. He's in Pokémon Care. Then I met Richie and Drew and Duplica and Todd and loads of others." He blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really thought I wasn't going to make any friends here."

"I told you the first friend was the hardest part!" she encouraged, then looked around, noticing plenty of other kids stretching and joking around with their friends as they did. "So, how long are we doing warm ups?"

Which led right into the loud whistle blowing in her ear, making her groan and wiggle her fingers in her ear canal in hopes of getting some hearing back. It did, another pleasant and unpleasant surprise, with the unpleasant part being the thickly built Bruno standing in front of the teens shouting, "For the first month, you'll _run_. That's the key to everything. Think of a sport, any sport, and you'll find out there's running in it. We're made for it, but you've gotten fat and lazy."

Then, a snarky voice from the group called, "You don't need to run in Ping Pong."

"Thank you, Melody, for volunteering. Melody is going to run for ten extra minutes. Isn't she a trooper?" He grinned at the laughs from the rest of the kids. "Pick your pace, faster than walking, and get to it. I want thirty minutes of cardio, kids."

These thirty minutes of cardio included kids doing every variation of a slow run possible. All except for two. One being Melody, who decided to take her punishment with pride and jog for her forty minutes, shooting a glare at Bruno on every pass she made. The other was Ash Ketchum, who jogged with very long, very strong strides around the track until Bruno called for time and he slowed, barely sweating and grinning as if ready to go again.

She blinked. "You, uh, run a lot?"

"Yeah," he said excitedly, and, being oblivious to the other children listening, decided this was the perfect time to dive into his life's story. "See, I live right next to Oak's place, right? It's just down the road, like, five minutes away. Me n' Gary always used to run around in the back. We got into all kinds of trouble, chasing around all the tauros and stuff. Not mean or anything, just playing. So we always we were running everywhere. So when Gary came over here and I was still at home Oak called me over all the time and asked me to round up the pokémon."

"Shit, man, pull up your shirt," one boy asked eagerly.

Ash blushed. "Sorry?"

May giggled. "He wants to see if you have abs."

"Um, yeah, I guess." He smoothed down his shirt over his stomach self-consciously.

Which led Melody to pop out at him from the crowd that circled and buzzed over his apparently fascinating stamina. She smiled one of those smiles that let even the fairly oblivious Ash know she was flirting and tugged softly at the bottom of his shirt, slipping right up next to him. "Well, farm boy, why don't you give us a show?"

"I'd rather not." He pushed her hand away sheepishly.

"Alright, shy. That's always nice. It doesn't seem like you'll be cheating on a girl anytime soon." She crossed her arms and smirked for a moment. "I have to say, you are not what I expected, Ash Ketchum. Here I thought you were going to be like Gary, all suave and cocky and knowing what you're good at. Maybe even like Lance, but you're really Pallet Town, huh? Country boy through and through."

May glared. "Leave him alone, Melody."

"Want a pass for the pool on the roof?" she sniggered.

Brown eyes widened. "There's a pool on the roof?"

"_Melody!_"

**

* * *

**

Misty's first day was spent daydreaming, because the first day was always nothing but rule sheets. She knew the rules. She didn't plan on breaking any. She planned on studying, on getting her A's, and most importantly she planned on getting her bike. So the last bell rang and she leapt up from her seat. She tossed her bag in her room, slamming the door behind her before carefully avoiding anyone who might have wanted to talk to her and heading into town.

She didn't mind walking, really. She liked walking, as long as it was going somewhere or there was something to look at, and only one of which was a problem in Goldenrod that day. She spent too much time in Goldenrod not to know every corner of it, and she was never one for a cityscape. It was okay, though, because it wasn't far to Rydel's Bike Shop from the school or downtown at all. It was a twenty minute stroll, and if she jogged (not that she would) she could make it down in fifteen minutes. A quick swerve behind the mall, a couple of tight streets and she squeezed out in front of the small, golden building, bikes inside shining through the windows as the afternoon sun.

There were bikes in the mall – there was everything in the mall, but Rydel's had bikes that lasted, that didn't have gears jamming when you tried to change the speed and could handle a pothole or a deeper mud puddle and would only need a cleaning in the end. The bikes in the mall she could shred in an instant, blow out the tires and bend the metal on an angry day. Considering how often she had an angry day, and how badly she treated her bike on a day to day basis, she would need the durability.

And that was _all_ she was looking for, just something durable. She only had so much money to spend, and she did plan on spending her last year having fun where she could get it rather than begging for minimum wage at a job. She came to check the prices, to see how long she would be bikeless before her monthly allowance would add up for it. She only dwelled on the Red Rocket, that gorgeous bike, because it was pretty. She certainly couldn't afford it.

Still, she was involved in it. She was extremely involved in it. She couldn't help but think of how nice it would be to have a bike run that smooth, to go on her daily rides and not come back with a bruise or two in places she would rather not mention from bumps the bike couldn't take. So, it made sense for her to scream when she stretched her hand out to stroke the bars and a heavy hand fell on her shoulder and gripped.

"So, you want a bike," Lieutenant Surge chuckled, crossing his camouflaged arms and glaring down at Misty. She spun around, breathing heavy and staring up at him. He wore a cocky smirk and muscles that were huge, but still managed to be proportionate to his body. No tattoos that she could see, however, despite the fact that he seemed like the guy who would have a few, and was quite sure that he did have one or two beneath his clothes.

"Holy shit," she gasped. She squared up her shoulders at him and glared with all the fire she had, knowing the kick he had going from startling her. "Surge, what the hell are you doing? You scared the life out of me!"

"It's Lieutenant Surge to you, weedle."

"Surge, you've know me since I was two," she spat, which was entirely true. That was the first time her parents had taken her to one of the League's many conferences, presenting the youngest girl to their smiling peers. "Call me by my name."

"And what is your name, Cadet?"

She glared. "I hate you."

"If you're not going to give me your name, weedle, then Weedle it is!" he cheered gleefully. "What can I help you with?"

"I need a bike," Misty said flatly. "That's why I'm in a bike shop."

"What are you looking for?"

"A _bike_."

"What _kind_ of bike?"

"Durable, that's it," she said firmly. "And it's not like I have the money for it, so the cheaper the better."

He crossed his arms over his chest – his tree trunk sized, terrifying arms. "Well, Weedle, last I heard you're pretty big news on campus. You draw a lot of attention everywhere you go. That's pretty good advertisement."

"I'm not exactly a fan of being known as some crazy serial rapist."

"That's died down. You're just a stalker, now."

She grunted, glaring at the floor with a blush. "Whatever."

"Rydel could use some advertising."

"Are you suggesting something?" she asked cautiously, daring to hope she wouldn't be bikeless for as long as she thought.

He eyed her. "You know, I was in less tense situations during the war."

"In a war they don't have a personal vendetta against you. Here, however…"

He grinned. "Well, Weedle, I might be suggesting something. Weedle, you think you can handle a Rydel cycle?"

"Yeah," she said slowly. "I _think_ I can handle it."

"This isn't an ordinary bike."

"Yes. Yes it _is_."

"You know, when I was in the war-"

She stomped her foot and snapped at him, "I swear, Surge, if you don't help me got a bike I'm telling your nephew you stalked him here from Vermillion! I don't think he knows you're in the bicycle shop, does he? I don't think he'd like if very much if he found out!"

There was an awkward silence for a moment, having more things thrown out in the open than needed to be there, before the Lieutenant cleared his throat and muttered, "If you wear a Rydel shirt and ride it for three hours a day you'll be done by the end of the school year. If you do weekends you're be done by spring break."

"Which bike?" she asked.

"It's advertising, so you get our best one, that Red Rocket," he said, nodding towards the one mounted on the wall.

Some people liked cars, others liked shoes, but Misty liked bikes. She didn't care if they were motorcycles or rusted away in a junk yard or fresh and new. She loved that it was the most efficient machine ever built, that it was her power that drove it, the way it melded with the road as she pedaled. So when this bike came around, she couldn't breathe when she looked at it. Her old bikes had always been hand-me-downs, with the paint chipped off and a chain that had to be drowned in oil to make up for the rust. This one was sleek and smooth, the red paint mixed with glitter that would make it glow in the sun. She bet that kiddish bell sounded like a choir when you rang it.

"It's gorgeous," she murmured.

"Yeah. Don't hide in any bushes with it."

He hauled the bike down and she swung her leg over it, and the next thing she knew she was pedaling back to her dorm, locking her bike (_her _bike, that had never been anyone else's) in the spot where it was supposed to go and flopping back into her bed with a smile up at the ceiling. It had been everything she dreamed it could be, and she closed her eyes and thought about riding out of the city and into the hills, speeding over every bump.

And then she remembered that she still had to unpack.

And then she frowned.

She was not about to unpack. She was not about to lay down on her bed and be proud of her bike when no one else knew it, because a victory was only a victory if the other person knew they had lost. So Misty swung her legs over the side and pushed herself out of bed, thinking hard. Ash was new, yes, and different, but there wasn't any reason he wouldn't behave like a normal student. There wasn't any reason he wouldn't follow Gary around like a lost little puppy.

Gary Oak spent his afternoons in the commons. He sat at the table he claimed for his own and chugged sodas and filled out his homework while kids threw footballs and blasted music and played video games around him, because Gary Oak was the kind of boy who wanted to prove to the world just how studious he was. Ash, following Gary like a lost little puppy and having all the energy of one, surely wouldn't turn in early or object to heading down.

She jogged now, not hating the act but the strange feeling that hit her muscles for a second as they tried to remember what running should feel like. The redhead knew she drew looks, because she didn't run and she carried a thick coat of anger around her, but it was suddenly crucially important to see Ash Ketchum. It was crucially important to leave her room and not unpack and to tell Ash Ketchum that she had a _Red freaking Rocket _and she was perfectly fine.

She slammed her shoulder into the door and smashed the tiles furiously, and she burst into the commons so loudly, so suddenly, with a shriek of "Kid! Hey, kid!" that the typical rush of the room screeched to a halt, leaving a girl in a yellow t shirt and jeans shorts panting and glaring and marching right up to the boy with messy black hair and a hat that made her itch whenever she saw the green L that was the League logo.

Ash Ketchum, peculiar boy he was, turned slowly to the redhead rushing for him, and _thought_. He thought, because he didn't have much time, because his blood was pumping and he felt threatened and he knew he had to make decisions fast. He was _not _battling, he knew, but that didn't stop his mind from flicking threw a vine whip from Bulbasaur to trip her up, a gust from Pigeot to slow her down, or a jolt that would temporarily paralyze to stop her in her tracks. It was at that exact moment Ash decided that he needed a battle quickly.

But he couldn't help but think she looked familiar, didn't she? Then, just a few paces from him, he blinked. That was the stalker girl. He'd shocked her bike yesterday, and that was how he had met May. That was right, he thought, she was Misty. Gary had filled him in later on, sitting Ash down on his bed and explaining that she was the youngest of four very sexy older sisters, that she was the smartest of the lot, and that she was the least sexually appealing.

Ash had asked why she would hide in the bushes, and Gary explained that Misty was crazy. Well, Gary explained that all girls were crazy, then explained Misty's specific type of crazy, sounding very much like a doctor and very much like a professional and all around making far too much sense for Ash to argue with. Most importantly, Gary made sure to explain how bad of a temper she had, and now Ash almost felt special that he was going to get to see it.

She came to a dead stop in front of him, an inch from her face, and his mind flashed again, filled with pokémon that did the same thing, and understanding that she was trying to look bigger and braver and stronger than she really was. When she spoke it was deep and loud, and that conjured up thoughts of growls that let him know that she wasn't just mad. She hadn't been accidentally smacked on the nose. She had seen him look at her eggs, and was ready to protect them. Well, whatever the human version of it was.

One finger jabbed him in the chest, and he looked down at it, a bit surprised that the girl who, apparently, didn't even know his name considering she referred to him as kid, decided that it was perfectly fine to invade his personal space. "I just wanted to tell you that I got a new bike and it's way better than my old bike, so your plan to ruin my life didn't work."

"I wasn't trying to ruin your life," he defended, pushing her finger off his chest. "I'm glad you got a new one, because destroying your bike was an accident! I'm sorry that your bike got destroyed, but it was your fault for hiding in the bushes and scaring us like that."

Then Pikachu was up on his shoulder, leaning forward and chattering angrily at the girl who dared to touch her owner, which roughly translated to: (_Don't hide in bushes and this won't happen!_), minus a few words that would have earned her a scolding had Ash spoke Pikachu fluently.

Her arms crossed now, eyes narrowing and looking petty now. For the third time Ash's mind flashed back to Oak's property, this time thinking about growlithe nipping at each other's heels and Persians batting one another with claws withdrawn, and he smiled because he had a word for it. Whether she knew it or not (and grudging by how pouty she was, he doubted she did), she wasn't quite mad anymore. She was playing, and he could deal with that.

"No! It wasn't my fault and you're going to pay me back, dammit!" She stomped her foot, and now Ash was entirely sure that it was all a game. "I have to work three hours a day to get this bike! Every week day! You owe me because it was your fault and my life is over forever now!"

He smirked. "It was not."

"Was too."

"Was not!"

"Was t-oh my Mew I'm five!" she shrieked, blushing and shaking her head. "I am not going to get into some kid argument with you. This is _your _fault for _your _Pikachu zapping my bike. I get a new one, even though my whole week is ruined because I have to spend all my time riding around town in a hideous shirt. Keep in mind, _all your fault_."

His smirk grew. "Was not."

"It was to…oh no!" she fumed. "We're not doing that again! It's your fault and I want my money and I never want to see your ugly face again! So there!"

Then, to his surprise, she dropped the whole thing and spun on her heel, rushing right back out of the room. The noise started back up around him, and he blinked back at Gary, noting that the other boy seemed just as confused. So Ash wandered over and settled down, taking one of the sodas from Gary's backpack and opening it, only to stare at the open bottle and frown, eyebrows coming together as he tried to think.

"I don't…I don't think she's really mad," he said finally, looking at the brunette.

He shrugged. "I don't think that pi is that useful in math and that it would be way easier if my teacher let me do it the way Gramps taught me and use Tao."

"What?"

"Math homework." The boy arched an eyebrow. "Does it matter whether or not the crazy chick is mad at you?"

He sighed, took a swig from his soda and decided, "Guess not."

**

* * *

**

It was seven o' clock, and while she should have been taking her bike out to ride into town and get herself something nice for dinner, she was sitting in the cafeteria with May and Dawn and eating terrible food. Well May was eating terrible food. Her and Dawn were watching her cheerfully eat a triple cheeseburger that doubtfully contained anything organic, tomato soup, what seemed no more than a paper cup full of chocolate milk, and fries.

"There were cupcakes," Dawn said, staring at the tray. "Why didn't you get a cupcake?"

"I don't know. Not in a cupcakey mood." She shrugged, sucking some ketchup off her thumb that was trying to squirt out the end of her burger.

"I want to see his ugly face again," Misty moaned, dropping her head to the table.

May wrinkled her nose. "Oh, Misty, get off of that. People _sit _on this table. People _stand _on this table."

"Why? Why do I want to go see his stupid ugly face again?" she continued, ignoring May's pleas for cleanliness. "I mean, I've already told him that he didn't ruin my bike. I got my revenge. I shouldn't want to see him ever again, right? I should be done with this whole stupid thing. I _am_ done with this whole stupid thing. I never want to see him again unless it's at a funeral and I can dance on his coffin because he deserved it. I don't want to see him."

"I got an A on my English essay," May said merrily, twirling a French fry in ketchup. "I checked online because she hasn't handed them back yet. I worked on it the night before, and I caught this huge error. So I'm pretty happy about that."

"I mean, he's not even hot!" she cried, slamming her hands on the table, picking her head up and glaring back and forth between the two. "Why should I care about some guy when he's not even hot? I've seen plenty of guys way hotter than that!"

Dawn beamed, stealing a fry from the brunette, completely ignoring the ketchup and going instead to dip it in the tomato soup, not noticing the slack jawed horror from the other girl. "See? I told my mom that all you have to do is the night before. Then the pressure gets to you and the adrenaline makes you smarter."

"I don't think it works that way," she said slowly. "And…and did you just dip your fry in my soup?"

"I hate him! Him and his stupid face!"

She grabbed another fry, going for the tomato soup once more. "I didn't double dip or anything."

"That's still gross!" May protested. "I want to drink that."

"I'm _not_ seeing him again."

"So just drink it."

"Your spit is in it!"

"I didn't double dip."

"It'll be salty!"

"They don't salt the fries. They're too cheap to salt the fries." Dawn slammed a fist on the table, leaning forward. "You paid for it. It's fine. Drink the damn soup."

"Why don't you just take it for dipping and buy me a new one?"

"Your soup is _fine_. Just eat it."

"It's gross."

"You know who's gross?" Misty asked rhetorically. "Ash Ketchum."

"Oh, come on. Even if I did double dip, it's just spit. It would be like we made out."

She glared. "You're okay with that?"

"You have a problem with homosexuality?"

"No. But I don't want to think about making out with you."

"Why? Because you're a homophobe?"

"Don't play this game, soup ruiner," she growled.

Then Misty leapt to her feet with a mildly bright idea, sticking one finger in the air. "It wouldn't hurt just to visit him for a while, would it? I could probably hide better this time, and I won't bring my bike. He'd never see me, especially if my friends came along with me to make sure I don't do anything stupid to reveal myself!"

"Misty, no," May ordered, soup forgotten. "_No._"

"I'd hide in the bushes with you. I don't care if we become a laughingstock." Dawn beamed.

She made a happy sound and clapped her hands together, holding them over her heart. "You're the best freshman ever! I knew you frosh had to be good for something more than shoving into trashcans! May, you've been replaced by a freshman. How does that feel? Why are we even friends?"

She twisted a fry in some ketchup, remembering the day they had met. After a second of being sure to get the story perfectly straight, she explained, "When you were a freshman and I was a seventh grader we met exploring the pokémon breeding center. We both got in trouble for tipping over a huge bucket of pokeballs and releasing hundreds of breeding stock, and you decided I was the sister you never had."

"Welcome to the sisterhood, Dawn," the redhead congratulated.

"Don't come crying to me when you get caught! I won't help you clear your name when you do something stupid."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Ash's room is right below Drew's. I bet he'll come out while I'm yelling at Ash. He might even be shirtless. I mean, that's what I've heard."

Instantly, the blood rushed to May's cheeks, and Dawn was looking back and forth, gleeful at the prospect of blackmail on her new roommate. She bowed her head and rubbed at her now warm face, as if that would make the color vanished, and began muttering something which sounded like, "I don't really like…" and "…probably not shirtless" and "…even if he would have really, really nice abs, I guess" before going back to her meal.

"So, are you coming with us?" Dawn asked eagerly.

She opened her mouth, then closed it with a sigh. "Yeah, just let me finish up."

Which they did, with Dawn helping along the way by dipping fries in soup. This disgusted May beyond all compare, and ended with Misty chugging back the tomato soup like a professional speed eater and tugging the girls out of the cafeteria, across the lawns, and right outside of the boys' dorm, where she stopped and stared up at the place. It wasn't anything too fancy, except for the lovely balconies they got. She scowled, because _their _balconies spread across two rooms and much bigger than the girls'.

"That's not fair."

"Shell Anderson is in the room next to ours. I don't want us to share a balcony," May said. "I don't want to know what she's do on a balcony that big, but I'd never be able to stand on mine again."

Meanwhile, Misty dropped to her knees and began picking up decent size rocks that she stashed in that makeshift basket of her shirt. Holding her shirt tail in her left hand, she hefted one of the largest rocks, leaned back, and threw it against the Plexiglas window on the second floor. It moaned and thundered in response and did so yet again when she chucked another heavy rock. "Ketchum! Ketchum, you coward! Come out!" Then, after another rock smacked against the window and laid still on his balcony's floor, continued, "Don't make me serenade you! Get your ass out here!"

"Misty, this is a bad idea," May whispered. "I thought we were just going to spy!"

"Well, he's not there," she said stubbornly. "I said I wanted to see his stupid face, and if he's not on his balcony and he's not near his window, then I can't see it, can I?"

Ash threw open the sliding glass door, stepping onto the balcony with a baffled glance down. "What's wrong with you?"

"You owe me a biiii-iiike!" she called her voice sing-songy as it floated up to him.

He gawked for a moment, then asked. "Are you high?"

"Noooo."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I want my bike money!"

"When I have the money I swear I'll give it to you, alright?"

"Okaaa-aaay."

He smiled. "So, you'll leave me alone?"

"I never want to see your stupid face agaa-aain!"

"I'll see you in school."

"I won't look at yoooou!"

"Can't we just make up and be friends?" he asked, then, realizing that might have been too big of a jump, tried, "Or just _not_ be enemies."

"No!" she yelped, losing all lightness in her tone. "I hate you!"

"That sounds like a challenge," he retorted.

Then came another voice crying, "Would you shut up?" as Drew ran out completely shirtless, as promised, not knowing that not one but three girls now gawked at his trim, nicely muscled body. "Who the hell yells at people at four in the morning?"

"It's not four in the morning," Misty huffed. "It's _ten_. Anyway, it's not like I'm the only one out here. Your little girlfriend May and her crazy roommate came out with me!"

May, from the bush, picked up a pebble and chucked it at the back of the crazy girl's head, proud when it managed to connect, causing Misty to shriek and spin on her heel. The girl looked back, and she beckoned her over, snatching her into the bushes when she was close enough and proceeding to shake her senseless by the shoulders. "Misty, why do you never shut the hell _up_?"

"I had to get him out of my system. You know, one last enemy before I graduate."

May sighed. "So you're not going to bother him anymore?"

She sighed, dropped the rocks to the ground and decided, "Guess not."

**

* * *

**

Yeah, yeah, did you see what I did there? With Ash and Misty both saying they won't see each other, but we know that they are because they're the main characters and the story isn't completed yet! I mean, wow, I'm clever. I'm like, some sort of irony god. Or something.

*Oh, you know I'm kidding. Thanks to all you wonderful people who step up and review and favorite and alert!


	3. Getting an Assignment

*spoiler* Harry Potter is a wizard. Ash Ketchum wants to be a Pokemon Master (whatever that is). I am a girl. *spoilers over*

**Getting an Assignment**

She needed good grades. Not because she was lacking in any subjects. She had enough to make up for any bad grade she could manage, considering her requirements had all been filled the year before, but because she needed to be a step above everyone else. That was why she focused so intensely in class, jotting down every word the teacher said and finishing her homework before the bell rang. She spent hours studying for every test, double checked all of her answers, and above all else made sure that her grades were always higher than her sisters. Well, except for home economics, they had all failed that one.

So she was unbelievably pissed when the bored voice of the secretary drawled, "Misty Williams, please report to the office."

She glared up at the speakers, ignoring the one or two kids in her class who still thought it was funny to gasp when someone was called. She shoved her books back in her bag, muttering, "I haven't done anything and she thinks she's _so_ great she can just pull me out of class. Well, that's stupid. I have work to do. But if I'm going to miss this stupid class I'm going to miss the whole damn thing at the water fountain."

"Do so immediately, Ms. Williams," she sighed, almost as if she'd heard. "No dawdling around water fountains on the way."

And then the surprising voice of Lance snapping, "Raikou, Oak. We can see you buying out the machines! There are_ cameras. _Will you let someone else have a drink?"

Which did get a laugh, because Champion Lance was so rarely in the school, much less commenting on something as routine as the empty vending machines. Even Misty had to smile at that, despite the fact that she desperately wanted to stay mad and hit someone for making her lose class time. Still, she was a master of holding in giggles, and though she'd been told not to dawdle, no one said anything about walking slow. So she did, unbearably slow, and glared at any security camera she passed, sure to make them know that she was doing it on purpose and she wanted them to know it.

"Most kids would kill to get out of class," the secretary said as she walked in.

"Most kids are stupid," Misty muttered crossly, her eyes flicking at Lorelei's door. "Is she going to see me now or am I just supposed to stand here and do nothing when I could be getting homework done for the next few days."

The woman shrugged. "You can see her."

"Know what it's about?"

"The new kid. You know, the one you stalked?" The secretary gauged her reaction, and seeing how still the redhead kept her face, plunged on, "Doesn't seem too mad, but you know her. She could be raging on the inside and waiting for it to be let loose on you for messing with the prodigy. Sucks, huh?"

Misty blinked. "Why do you work with kids?"

She winkled her nose. "I'm not a therapist. I just play with papers. Kids are an unpleasant side effect."

So Misty turned away from the woman and threw open the door to the office. There was Lorelei and there was Ash on the other side of the desk, and there was Pikachu, wandering around the office, flicking her ears and tail, and smelling everything she could reach. That was calming. She doubted Lorelei would yell with a pokémon wandering around, and crossed her fingers behind her back for good luck, then taking a step back towards the door, just in case.

"Don't go," Lorelei said with a grin. "You're not in trouble."

"Why's he here then?" she argued, head jerking his way. "The only reason he'd be here would be so he could get me in trouble. He wants to ruin my life! I mean, you know he already ruined my bike. It's all over the school."

She folded her hands and leaned forward over her desk. "Ash Ketchum is a magnificent battler. He has a kind of power I've never seen, a strong, raw talent. Unfortunately, one of the drawbacks seem to be that he is not a book smart student. He barely passed his old classes and the lessons here are more rigorous. I don't mean to be cruel, Ash, but you hardly have a chance of passing unassisted."

She snorted. "Sucks to be you."

And, over Ash's sudden loud laughter, Lorelei explained, "Misty, Ash needs a tutor."

"I'm not surpri-oh no!" Her eyes widened, looking at the cackling boy then back at her idol several times before her mouth managed to work again. "No way in hell. You're not talking to me about this. You called me up here as a referral. You want name, right? Because you can't possibly mean me."

"I do. You've tutored before and done a fine job with it. I'm sure you'll do a good job with Ash." Lorelei patted his hand gently, and he reined in his laughter. "He's not stupid."

"I beg to differ," she snapped.

"Don't you want to be friends, Mist?" he asked sweetly.

"I don't want to tutor him! Why would you even pick me?" she gasped. "What would you want _me _for? We don't get along! Gary's smart and he got mentioned on the announcements already. What about him?"

"Because _he_ is not going to be a trainer, or a gym leader, or, hopefully, a member of the Elite Four, working in close contact with who might be a future Champion," she retorted coolly.

She felt a blush rise up her cheeks as Ash repeated, "The Elite Four?"

"What?" she hissed. "It's that surprising? Besides, you're training to be a Champion. What are you impressed for?"

"But an Elite specializes in a type and everything. I mean, it's different from being Champion. It's, you know…it's harder, in a way." He smiled eagerly. "Yours is water, right? That's why you're so close to Lorelei, with her being ice."

"Both of you are impressive battlers, alright? No contests here." She glared at Misty, who looked ready to start yelling. "I'm not losing this boy because he can't add two and two, and I'm not making you do this for free. You tutor him and you don't have a scrap of homework to do this year. You ace your tests and your exams, and you're fine. You'll get you're a like you always do. You'll have more free time, time that I expect you'll use to tutor Ash."

"So, you're pretty desperate." Misty grinned a bit. "I could ask for a scholar-"

"Don't push it. You bike broke because you were stalking the boy and now you have to pay for it. You can't use your tuition money for it."

"Ash is buying me a new bike, aren't you, Ash?" she said swiftly, giving him her best glare.

Nowhere close to being intimidated, he said, "I can't wait for you to tutor me. We can be friends, like I said."

"No!" she shouted, shaking her head at him. She stamped her foot, which was a childish habit and must have looked stupid, but she did it anyway. "Not friendship, not acquaintances, not anything! This is business. You're going to get an A and then I'll never have to see your ugly face again! And I never want to!"

She slammed the door behind her so hard the floor shook, and the secretary dropped the files she'd been holding to gawk her way, but Misty didn't care by that point. Her face was red and she was shaking and she was furious and she didn't know why, especially with Lorelei and Ash just behind the door, whispering loud enough so she could hear how confused they were, how concerned her idol was over her tantrum.

"How bad is it?" the woman asked.

"I have to tutor him."

She smiled, reassuring now. "Oh, kiddo, that's nothing. You could have gotten detention, suspended, extra work around the school. Tutoring him? That's not bad at all. That Ketchum kid is a very nice boy. You won't have any problems with him."

"Nice boy!" she shrieked, stamping her foot again. "That's all I ever hear! Nice boy! Nice boy! Of course he's a nice boy! He grew up in Pallet with a bunch of corn and cows and Professor Oak! I'd be a nice girl if I grew up like that. Hell, who wouldn't when they get to come home to some little country cottage and a mom who bakes apple pies and a dad who probably pats him on the head every time he counts to ten!"

"Misty, you might want to-"

"And one day, one _horrible_ day, the Champion comes around and asks him if he wants to go to the best school in the world for free and train under him and become the greatest trainer in Kanto. Oh, gee, I _wonder_ why he's so nice! I can't imagine who could come out okay from that horrible life!"

"I know I'm lucky," he whispered, and she spun, too mad to be ashamed he had heard her. "I know I'm really, really lucky. And you're right about…about pretty much everything. I had a great life and I got a great opportunity. But that's no reason to be mad at me."

"I hate you because you wrecked my bike," she hissed.

"I don't think you do, because you're not…" He paused, then swallowed. "I don't know how I can stop you from being mad at me, but I'm sorry about the bike, and for anything else, and I really do want to get along. I didn't come here to make enemies. Lance invited me out here, and…and I said yes and thank you."

She glared. "Have you unpacked?"

"Yeah." He blinked. "Why?"

"_That's_ why I hate you," she snarled, and stormed back to class, leaving confusion in her wake.

**(PAGEBREAK)**

It was Math, and she was in a classroom. It was empty for the period, and she wouldn't be surprised if it was empty next period too. That was because it wasn't her class. It didn't settle well in her stomach that she was skipping, but she expect to get an A even with her abandoned room moment, so she closed the door behind her and leaned a chair against it for safety, then whipped out her cell phone and collapsed on one of the desks, holding down one until her phone beeped and dialed. Another tap and the phone was on speaker, and she set it on the desk next to the one she was sitting on.

"Daisy?"

"Misty?" her sister asked, all light and airy and everything the blonde was to the rest of the world. Then her voice was low and fast and concerned, crooning, "Oh, Misty, honey, what's wrong? Did you fail something?"

"No," she said hollowly.

"I haven't heard you this down since you failed home ec," she pressed. "What's wrong?"

"It's not about home economics."

"Is it about school?"

Her shoulders rose and fell, despite the fact that her sister couldn't see her. "Sort of."

"Well, you don't need to worry." Daisy sighed, and Misty could practically see her running a hand through her hair and pinching the bridge of her nose. "You're a smart girl and a great battler and you'll do great as an Elite or a Gym Leader. You were born for this kind of thing, so don't let the pressure get to you."

"That's it?"

She groaned. "And you're pretty."

"Not that." She swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. "You said Elite or Gym Leader."

"You'll do great at both," she promised. "You're made for that sort of thing, you know you are."

"That's it?"

"Misty, I don't get what you mean. What do you want me to say?"

"Did you know I'm going to tutor Ash?"

"The kid from Pallet? Is that what this is about?"

"Did you know the bastard's already unpacked his bags?"

"What the hell do you care?"

"Because that means the idiot thinks he's going to stay."

She hung up, and turned her phone off, because she knew Daisy would be calling again and again and would want an explanation for the erratic call,. But she was done talking, and she wasn't entirely sure why she called in the first place. Instead, she stretched out on the cool tile, not caring that it was probably absolutely disgusting and had enough dirt to make a cave look clean, and waited for the bell to ring before heading off to the next class.

And the next class, and the next class, and the class after that, where a runner came in and handed her a piece of office stationary that said "_Report to the boys' dorm, room 103, at six PM tomorrow night." _She thought about ripping it, but settled for folding it as many times as she could before shoving it into the bottom of her backpack so she could ignore it for a while. This didn't worked anywhere near as well as planned, because lunch was just around the corner.

It was all going well enough. She went through the lunch line and grabbed herself a grilled cheese sandwich, a couple of sides, and an ice tea that was as long as her forearm, then sat at her usual table. This table had previously consisted of May and whatever random friends decided to sit with them, but this year it consisted of May, Dawn and Misty, and the occasional boy Dawn managed to drag over.

"So, when's your first lesson with him?" May asked, crunching into a carrot stick.

She glared. "I was trying to ignore that."

"Sorry," the brunette said shortly, then gave a wicked grin and offered, "Carrot stick?"

"I hate you." May laughed and went back to her meal, while Misty dug through her bag. "The note says tomorrow, after I finish cycling around town. Maybe I can hit a pedestrian and get my anger out before I go see him."

Dawn seemed to think seriously about this before pointing out, "I don't think that's very good advertising for Rydel's."

"Have to go to the boys' dorm to do it, though," Misty continued after giving Dawn a very long look of utter disbelief. "Ugh, because we couldn't let him come to _my_ room. Better make sure I don't have to pee. Their bathrooms are nasty."

"They can't be that bad."

"Strike one, Dawn. Yes they are. Don't touch anything in the boys' dorm, never ever. Boys do terrible things when they're alone, and not just what you're thinking. They also sweat and wrestle and drink far too much soda and eat disgusting fast food. They leave their trash everywhere. For some reason, they don't mind living in their own filth."

"_Why_ would I go to the boys' dorm in the first place?"

"Strike two! I can't even respond to that it's so ridiculous!" Misty cried. "I can't believe this! I have to go _inside_. It's bad enough I have to hear the stories about it. Do you really think I can live through this? I mean, I'm not sure I can enter that room without running over it with a blacklight!"

"Sure you will. It's just a really big really scary adventure. You can do this," May reassured. "I'm with you in spirit. I'll never go there, though. I'll walk across a volcano with you but there's no way I'm going to a huge dorm full of boys, especially since Drew's right upstairs."

"I wouldn't mind a study date with Ash. He's really cute, and sweet too. A guy dropped all his books yesterday and Ash bent down and helped him pick it all up. It was so sweet, especially since the kid's totally a dork. Nobody likes him in my grade. Oh, _and _he's in my grade," Dawn said, smiling a bit dreamily. "Most guys just shove the frosh into trashcans because that's all we're good for, but Ash actually helped him out."

"Strike three, frosh. Your best friend privileges have been revoked. It's back to man bait for you!"

"Come on, Misty, that doesn't deserve a strike," May scolded. "Even you said the first time we met him that you thought he was cute."

"That never leaves the table," she hissed, slamming her open hand down to emphasize her point.

She smirked. "Hey, Misty, you're not one of those girls that refuse to admit they like a guy, no matter how obvious it is?"

"You're not pairing us up! Don't you _dare_!"

"Hey, you're going on a study date with the guy," May shrugged. "Just saying."

"It's not a date!" she squeaked. "I'm doing it because I _have _to! I don't _want _to do it!"

May giggled, elbowing Dawn. "Watch her blush. It's fine because it goes super fast. Sometimes I make a game out of it. Five points if it's on her cheeks, ten points if its on her nose, fifteen points it you can get it to her ears, and-"

"Shut up!" Misty said, rubbing at her cheeks to try and make the red go away. It didn't work, of course. "It's business, pure business. I don't like him, he doesn't like me, and we're going to grin and bear it so I can graduate and get to be a member of the Elite Four and he can go ahead and do whatever the hell he wants with Lance."

May giggled. "Misty thinks Ash is _cute, _pass it on."

"I _hate _you!"

**(PAGEBREAK)**

She had a bike, a good bike. Hell, it was an amazing bike, and she wasn't going to complain about it. After all, she just had to advertise by riding it (which was what she wanted to do anyway) with the only real downside being the hideous, oversized, lime green shirt that proudly exclaimed "Rydel's Bikes" stamped across her chest. Well, that and taking time away from doing nothing in her room, but that was probably for the better. Instead of letting her muscles rot and getting hooked on far too many RPG's than were good for her, she would be out exercising, which didn't sound nearly as terrible as she expected it to.

There wasn't a route to follow, and she had nowhere to go. The goal was for "as many people to see you as humanly possible" as Surge put it. So she stretched her calves and thighs and hopped on the bike, _her_ bike, kicking off and starting slow down the thin alley from Rydel's to the main street, which was crowded despite the bike path she rode along. Twice she hit a wall swerving to avoid a person, and quieted the complaints about how she's rather be in the woods or the side roads than dodging halfwits. So she put her feet on the pedals once more and pumped over the endless flat street that was becoming more and more familiar and comfortable with each passing moment.

She let her head tip back, taking in the business buildings that towered overhead, most with their signature gold toned brick. She breathed in the scent of _clean _air, because Goldenrod was a city of sound and paper, and it didn't _make_ things. It wasn't polluted, and what little litter there was got swept away by a clean-up committee. But it was comfortable, and the city buzzed with her, between the talking and the cars and the subway she could almost feel rumbling beneath the streets. Even in the tourist trap, Goldenrod was still Goldenrod. It was still her home away from home, and she was a Golden Girl. This was her city.

And once she realized that, it was easier. She knew who lived in the city from the look of them, so she knew they'd move when she came their way. She knew to dodge a bike from a tourist who would gawk at a map and completely ignore the lengths she would go to swerve around them, and was sure to steer clear early, to keep her from crashing into a wall. Riding became effortless then, thoughtless, and she found herself turning through the streets without any direction in mind.

So she stopped in front of the radio tower, listening to the talk show host that was quizzing the general populous of Goldenrod City, tourists and townsfolk alike, on trivia they should have known. Of course, since they should have known, none of them could come close to answering and laughed at the stutters and long, empty silences. Then, with a grin, the host sidled up to Misty saying, "Welcome, newcomer! I see you're here from Rydel's cycles. How are those bikes?"

"Really good," she said, then, remembering she was supposed to be advertising, continued, "The best bike I've ever rode on."

"Feel like answering a few questions?"

And, figuring that a plug on the radio would be worth much, much more than the five minutes she wouldn't be advertising, Misty agreed, "Sure.

"What academy is Goldenrod famous for?"

"Goldenrod Preparatory School." She grinned for the easy question. "I go there."

"Alright, let's make this a little harder. How about this – what color apricorn makes a nest ball?"

"Um…" She wrinkled her nose, thought for a moment, then said, "Green, I think."

"Very nice! Two down, three to go. How many pokémon can a PC box hold?"

"Thirty."

"Fan_tas_tic!" the host exclaimed, her smile only growing with each correct question. "Name three non-legendary pokémon that don't evolve."

"Ditto, sudowoodo…" She closed her eyes, thinking. "Absol don't, right?"

"Amazing! And, the last question, what station is everyone out there listening to?"

She froze, realizing that she had absolutely no idea where the woman was from. Then Misty's eyes flicked down and she laughed. "Is it the one on your mike?"

"This it is."

"Keep listening to one o' six point five!"

The radio host lowered her microphone with a smile, and Misty assumed she had sent the listeners to a song or a commercial, because she abruptly started up a conversation: "That school really does its job right, huh? I swear, every question gets answered when one of you academy kids come over. You're the reason we don't give out prizes any more. Why don't we just send everyone there, smarten 'em up a bit?"

She smiled awkwardly. "It'd get crowded.:"

"Where are you from?" she inquired lightly, and wrestled with her purse, pulling out a pack of nicotine gum and putting four pieces in her mouth with a moan. "Three packs a day withdrawal. Not pretty, babe. Not at all."

"Three packs a day?"

"I know, terrible, right?" She shrugged, and continued, "Kanto girl, aren't you? Got the face for it. It's the nose that tips it off." She scratched her nose, and laughed with Misty did the same subconsciously. "Oh, sweetie, it's cute! Don't worry. Where are you from? Lavender?"

"Cerulean City."

"Don't have an accent." She arched an eyebrow. "Impressive."

"I spend more time in Goldenrod than I do at home."

"But you still call it home."

"I…huh." She blinked, then copied the woman's laidback manner and shrugged. "I guess I do. Well, it's where my family is. It's where my gym is. What can I do? I can't help but think of it like home. I mean, who likes to think of school as their home?"

"Maybe you don't have a home yet."

"What do you mean?"

"See, the farther I get from Goldenrod, the more my heart aches. I love this place. I'm tied here. Sure, vacation's nice, but this is where I want to come back to. It's the only place that makes the homesickness go away." She poked Misty in the chest. "_That's _how you know it's home."

"I miss Cerulean," she said lightly.

"Wanting and needing aren't the same, even if they do feel close. How do you feel about that bike, kiddo?"

"I want it, I guess."

"You need it," she retorted, and jabbed her in the chest again. "You can't see it yet, but that bike makes you whole. I saw it when you rode up. How do you feel about school?"

"That I _need_."

"How do you know?"

She snorted. "Well, I can't get a job without it."

"That's the school talking. You're not in the classroom anymore. You ought to use your own common sense." And with a wink, she whipped the microphone back up to her face and talked in a low, quick announcer voice before wandering off to yet another passerby, no longer quizzing but asking about political situations.

Misty stood there for a while, looking up at the radio tower and glancing at the woman who had brought up so many weird topics and was probably crazy from nicotine withdrawal. She thought about being from Cerulean City and being from Goldenrod and thought very, very hard about whether or not she should unpack her suitcase. Then her phone buzzed at her in her pocket, and she biked to the boys' dorm without another thought.

She locked her bike to a tree, because she didn't have a clue where the boys had their bike rack. It was a bit out of the way, but she could see it from the entrance of the building. After taking a deep, steadying breath, she marched across the concrete and stuck her key card into the lock. There was a beep and a green light, and a much quieter click as the door unlocked, and she stepped inside, holding her head with more confidence than she actually had.

The boys' dorm wasn't the wreck she thought it would be, looking just like the hotel styled place the girls lived. Rich red carpets, a dark colored wallpaper and hanging lights at regular intervals. Well, there was a pair of boxers on one of the lights, but she supposed that wasn't much different from the occasional bra that showed up at her place. She guessed she was scared for no good reason. After all, it wasn't like guys could sense an estrogen filled human stepping in, and it wasn't like they'd lose all control and gang rape her if they could.

She was going to be fine. She was going to be _more_ than fine. She was going to tutor Ash, run home, and reward herself with a gallon of German chocolate ice cream. Yup, sit through a night with Ash, use that gorgeous bike to rush out to a store, buy a gallon of the best quality dessert she could find and let it melt in her mouth while she watched some good chick flick or a great sitcom. Preferably one with no guys, but she could stand it if they pranced around shirtless.

"Hey, Misty, I heard you're tutoring Ash."

She stifled a scream and spun to see it was Brock who spoke, a towel clad Brock that looked quite nice nearly naked, she had to admit, not that she would ever do much about it. She was probably closest to him out of all the other gym leaders, being just a city away and not nearly as creepy as Surge could be. Well, at least not to her. Her sisters weren't too fond of his mooning over them, but they got it often enough not to mind. And since, apparently, she was just a bit too young for him, he'd treated her like another one of his many siblings, complete with hair ruffling and scraps while he cooked.

"Hey Brock," she said, surprised her voice shook, because she _wasn't _nervous, after all. "Siblings okay?"

"They're going great, not all of them want to come here and learn to train, but…" He shrugged. "What can you do?"

"Yeah," she agreed with a chuckle. "What _can_ you do?"

"Nervous?"

"Of what?" she said, her voice cracked at the lie. She rolled her eyes to the ceiling, muttering, "Mewdammit."

Brock smiled back reassuringly and crossed his arms. "Ash is a great guy. He's not in the classes I help teach, but his room's pretty close to mine and he hangs out with Tracey a lot. I think you'd like him if you'd try a little. He is serious about the friends thing. I mean, he tries to get on everyone's good side, but in a nice way. He's genuine, y'know? He's not doing it to get something out of anyone. He's just friendly."

She glared at the carpet, fighting the urge to stomp her foot again. "Well, maybe I just don't like him. It's not a crime. I can hate him all I want."

"The guys don't get back until twelve, anyway." He paused. "Not the ones that drink. So you don't have to be nervous. There's not going to be giant parties breaking out."

"Right." She nodded curtly. "Thanks, Brock."

"He's got the first door on the left."

"Right," she repeated, turning to the room.

"And Misty?" He smiled much too softly at her as she turned back to him, looking confused. "Your sister called me, saying you called her with some weird message. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"She sounded upset," he explained.

"She doesn't have to be. I'm fine." She narrowed her eyes. "And you tell her, if she calls you again, that she doesn't need to go behind my back and call you or anyone else at the school. If I need her help I'll let her know, and if I don't let her know, I don't want her help."

"She worries about you." He cut her off before she could counter, "Not because you're weak, or anything, but because she's your sister. With everything that's been happening lately, you really can't blame her for having some concerns, can you?"

Her nostrils flared and she snarled, "Why should she be concerned? You can ask anyone in the damn school. I'm going to be a _fine _Gym Leader or Elite someday. There's absolutely nothing to worry about!" Then she gave the door handle a vicious twist and stormed in on a boy who wasn't Ash, and was playing a violent video game rather intensely and thankfully didn't notice her. She blushed, ducking back out of the room.

Brock tried very, very hard not to smile. "That's the right."

"Yeah. I got it."

"I said on the-"

"I _got _it, Slate."

**(PAGEBREAK)**

Next chapter is tutoring! Who's excited? I'm excited. I'm really excited. I mean, I'm bouncing up and down. Figuratively. I mean, I'm not really bouncing up and down. I'm in a car and I'm sleepy, so…well, bouncing just isn't an option. Especially since my cell phone died and I can't talk to any of my favorite people.

Sorry for the lateness! Golly, it's been hectic 'round these parts, but it should get better from here on out.


	4. Teaching

I was here the whole time. I updated and everything. You just didn't know because you're not hipster enough.

* * *

**Teaching**

Despite the fact that Misty had managed to get herself in an argument, walk into the wrong dorm (albeit a thankfully empty one), and humiliate herself in front of a boy she considered an older brother figure, she managed to storm into Ash's room with her head held high and a voice clear and crisp, calling, "Alright! You're not going to pull anything funny, okay? _Nothing_. We're going to study, we're going to ace this, and then I can get back to my life. We're not holding your weird friendship ceremony. We're business associates. Sound good?"

He watched her quite calmly through her speech, face surprisingly impassive. Once she had finished, he turned to his desk and smiled to himself, sure to have his back facing her before he did so. "I'm not hard to teach, if it's just one on one. I'm bad in a class, though, so I always end up failing. Trust me, this is going to be the easiest tutoring job you'll ever have."

"I hate teaching," she countered, sitting on his bed at his quick quip of, "I hate learning" which, she supposed, was a fair retort. Then she took the time to consider the bed she sat on. It was half made, with pillows thrown near the top and thick, green blanket brought up to them, though he hadn't bothered tucking it in or smoothing the wrinkles, which made her think it was a five second fix once he remembered she was coming over. The rest of it was fairly neat too, though she bet that it had to be, since he had just moved it. Or, it could have something to do with his little electric mouse that he had snoring away in the corner.

He was from Pallet, but even if she did fall for the stereotype and see the town as farms and overalls and the best technology being a static filled radio that played folk tunes, she couldn't deny that there would be an awful lot of pokémon, and Ash would be in close quarters with them. Ash would know better than to make a creature live in a grime and dust covered pigsty, especially one as small as Pikachu. If she managed to get stuck between a couple of piles or caught in a cloud of dust, thing would go very bad very fast. So, if not for her own sanity's sake, she could trust him to keep the room clean for Pikachu.

"She's sleeping," Ash said, noticing her glance and gesturing at Pikachu. "While we're talking about this Shakespeare guy, try not to be too loud."

"This Shakespeare guy?" she gasped. "You mean the man who wrote infamous plays, revolutionized the drama industry and still had works that hold meaning today?"

"Yup, _that_ Shakespeare guy," he chirped. "If you know all that without the book, this is going to be fun! Oh, _and _you got mad without yelling and waking up Pikachu. I think we're going to be great friends."

"No. Not fun, not friends," she snapped, leaping back to her feet. "We're not going to be all close and friendly and happy. We're going to spend an hour teaching your stupid ass how to type numbers into a calculator, then I'm going to go back to my room and try as hard as I can to think you don't actually exist!"

"I'm your homework now and you're supposed to be the best teacher I can have. I'm not trying to get into your pants or steal your job or ruin your life or whatever. I'm just asking you to help me and maybe, and this is a major maybe, be friends." He smiled again, this time much less fun and much more timid. "Okay, Misty?"

She glared at the wall for a moment, a little angry that she couldn't think of one thing to say that wasn't just being stubborn or cruel, before finally growling a reluctant, "Alright. We'll get to work then."

"Good!" he said, looking positively gleeful as he turned through his English book. "We're going Romeo and Juliet in class. The teacher said that it was usually a freshman book, but that, uh…" He trailed off, hands still on the pages. "She said that she knew some kids hadn't read it, but I think she just meant me, because everyone else was groaning. The other kids aren't getting in trouble because of me. You don't think they are, do you?"

"She wouldn't screw a whole class over just for you, Ketchum." Which she almost believed if she said it strongly enough, so she said it again in her mind to be sure. Then, she kept on, with just as much force as before, "You're not that special that everyone is going to jump through hoops for you. You're lucky you get a tutor."

He grinned. "That's good."

She frowned a bit, realizing her sentiment had been more consoling than insulting. She couldn't be mean to him _all _the time, though, especially not if they were going to get any tutoring done. So she yanked up the chair beside him, looking over his shoulder at the book. "You mean to tell me that you've never even read _Romeo and Juliet_? I mean, I'll buy that you've never read any of the others, but _Romeo and Juliet_ is a staple. I mean, I thought every fifth grader did this as a play."

"My fifth grade play was 'Wally the Magikarp'."

She stared at him for a moment, and he stared right back, daring her to ask. "Okay, I'll bite. What's 'Wally the Magikarp'?"

"A play."

Her eyes narrowed a bit. "About what?"

"A magikarp named Wally."

She resisted the urge to hit him. "And what did he _do_?"

"Despite his inability to battle, Wally found other talents and had a wonderful group of friends. Then, one day, he evolved into Gyarados and all the other pokémon loved him too. Then we all learned a valuable lesson about how you shouldn't judge somebody just because they don't have all the same talents that you do, or something."

Her eyes narrowed entirely now. "We're going to move on from that."

"I was Wally, actually," he continued. "I didn't have any lines."

"The main character doesn't have any lines?"

"He's a magikarp. They don't talk, Mist." He smirked. "Can I have a new tutor?"

She was resisting the urge to hit him very, very hard now. "So, why don't you tell me what you do know about _Romeo and Juliet_, and we'll start from there?"

"Romeo and Juliet fall in love. Their parents hate it. They kill themselves. The end," Ash summarized, going back to flipping to the right story. "I know all that, I've just…you know, I've never heard the old English words that he uses. It's not like I'm totally ignorant, or anything."

"So you've seen parodies?"

"Uh-huh."

"Better for me." She shrugged, seeing his mouth drop open. "Listen, if you have a bunch of stuff to write, you want a blank board to write it on. If there's already a bunch of stuff on it, you have to wash it all off before you can write. So, at least I don't have to get rid of anything wrong you have to unlearn before we get down to the real stuff. Get it?"

"No. You used 'stuff', like, four times in a row." He scowled. "But I thought that stuff isn't really wrong in English anyway. I thought that pretty much everything you said in English was right. You have all kinds of interpretations and stuff. So, I mean, in English I'd be-"

"If they taught it to you in your English class and you _didn't _get to talk? It's probably wrong. Lots of things are commonly accepted that aren't true, which we'll get to soon enough. For now, start reading." She propped her head on one hand and sniggered, "You _can_ read, can't you?"

"Yeah," he muttered, blushing as he glared at the book.

She elbowed him. "Nu-uh, Ketchum. Romeo and Juliet is a_ play_. You don't read it in your head. You say it out loud, you _act_. Shakespeare wrote every in a poem, so it's fun to say out loud. Give it a shot or else you'll never be able to understand it."

"But you'll laugh if I get a word wrong!" he protested.

"Of course I will." She snorted. "Now, go ahead and read."

Ash sighed, muttering, "_Two houses, both alike in dignity_," only to be interrupted by Misty asking, "Which means?"

"Two pretty houses."

"No, it's-"

"I _know_. They're both _proud_," he cut her off this time. "I know what dignity is."

"Gimme then," she said, snatching the book. "You'll listen, won't you?"

"That's what I've been doing! Why can't _I _read?"

"Because you slaughter words with your stupid voice." She cleared her throat. "_Two houses both alike in dignity/ In fair Verona where we_ – you _are _going to take notes in case you have a class discussion tomorrow, aren't you?" she accused, arching an eyebrow his way, and he scurried to get his notes.

And so it continued. She read through the first act of _Romeo and Juliet_, making sure he was taking notes and trying very hard not to enjoy herself. He read back his notes, using a lot of quotes, she notes, and satisfied in the he seemed to have gotten the gist of it, moved onto math. That was _also _easy. She gave him a few pointers, had him write down the process, and he was just fine getting the answers right or near right on his own, up until they continued into science. He jotted down definitions, answered questions, and though he certainly wasn't a genius, she didn't think he needed her there every day to help him pass, or ever to do decently.

"How do you fail your classes?" She accused, "Do you do it on purpose?"

"Nah, I just don't test well."

She frowned. "You don't seem like the choking type."

"I never said I choked. I just said I didn't test well."

"I have no idea what that's supposed to mean." She shook her head. "So I'm going to head back to my dorm, and we'll see if there's something else you need tomorrow. Try to think of questions or…or something, alright?"

He smiled. "No problem! Thanks for all the help, Misty. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Actually, I think you could have." She nodded to herself. "So I'm going to leave before things get even more confusing."

He arched an eyebrow at her, waving bye as she strode out of his room and down the hall, arms crossed and lips set in a fierce pout as she went. She used her back to open the door and kept her steady position until she had made it down to her bike. Only then did she push thoughts of the baffling Ash Ketchum out of her mind, throwing her leg up and over the bike and speeding back to her dorm. She shed her bike, clipping into her own rack before rushing inside, rushing up the stairs to her room, and hoping no one would be out and hoping for a pleasant chat. She wanted to think and sulk and, most importantly, _hide _for a little while.

What she ended up doing was glaring at her suitcase. Nobody was in the room to see her, so hiding in her closet was pointless. After all, she didn't spend all that tuition to share a room, or have a door that didn't lock, but she tucked herself away in the closet anyway. She used a reading light clipped on the rail above like a light bulb, and glared at her monstrous suitcase, debating about opening it up. It had all her clothes, after all, and all her hygienic bathroom stuff. She wasn't going anywhere for a year – her last year. It'd make everything a bit easier if she put all of her stuff away.

"I'm graduating," she mumbled, leaning back. "Damn."

After a while, she kicked the suitcase over and ripped the zipper open, grabbing a candy bar before switching off the light and throwing the closet door open. She needed to make her bed, not just a comforter but all the odds and ends, and figured once she did that, it would be easy. Tugging her sheets tight and smoothing them over her bed, then settled down on it, sighing up at the ceiling, wondering what she would be doing if they hadn't had the money to send her to school, if she had done her training with nothing but a sleeping bag and a backpack.

"Like Ash," she remarked, then sat up violently, furious. "Not like Ash! Never like that stupid, ignorant…not like _him_."

She snatched up her pillow and screamed into it for a good five minutes, digging her fingers into the mattress and kicking her feet before slumping on it, half suffocating as she kept her face pressed into the fabric, which smelled very, very stale, and she immediately regretted not taking the time to wash them before she put them on her bed. Eventually, she turned on her side and slept, which, aside from an hour of gaming at three in the morning due to a sudden bout of insomnia all rising from the question "What the hell is wrong with Ash Ketchum?", was how she spent the rest of her night.

* * *

When Monday morning came around, Misty was down in the cafeteria stirring a bowl of lukewarm oatmeal and wishing that she wasn't eating something that looked like ponyta vomit. To make up for it's terrible taste, she had three glasses of orange juice, one already empty, that she gulped after every spoonful. She found it went quicker if she tried to think of it as a challenge. She also found that she still had elementary boarding school manners drilled into her, and couldn't bring herself to waste the food, no matter how nasty it was.

Five minutes later, May sat down next to her. Aside from the fact that it was extremely early and the brunette never really woke up until at least nine in the morning, May was focused on eating her cereal very quickly so it wouldn't get mushy in her nasty, one percent milk. Another ten minutes, and Dawn sat across from the two of them, a spread of delicious looking pastries in front of her, that she immediately dug into.

Dawn's eyes were big and taunting and, even before those petty little lips opened Misty knew – oh, how she knew – exactly what she was going to ask. IN fact, the redhead knew without a doubt that she would be teased in the upcoming days about everything from how absolutely wonderful Ash Ketchum looked from behind (and every other angle, most likely) to how, mostly due to her unfortunate genetic gingerness, Misty would blush at any implication that she had some sort of romantic relationship with Ash.

"Did you make out with him?"

She glared fiercely at her hideous, vomit-like breakfast, doing her best to ignore her. "No."

"Did you hold hands?" she asked, just as eagerly.

"No."

Her smile grew, and, _loudly_, she inquired, "Meaningless sex?"

And there went the emotionless façade. She instantly dropped her book and gawked, face completely scarlet. "Arceus, Dawn!" she shrieked, making the other girl burst into a giggling fit. "_Ew_, no!"

"Then you must have said romantic nothings all night," she taunted. "Or maybe he serenaded you, and then you got all dreamy and you danced around your room with him before passionately making out on his bed."

"I didn't do any of that!" she cried.

Dawn laughed. "Then what did you do?"

"We studied English, Math and Science," she said with a huffy sigh. "Tomorrow we're doing Trainer Studies, Strategies and History. That'll be all we do."

She frowned. "You're the worst senior role model ever. Where's you sense of adventure? Where's your wild teen rebellion?""

"You're a stupid frosh."

The blue eyed girl (the awake blue eyed girl, as May was still very quickly eating to avoid soggy cereal) crossed her arms. "At least I know a hot guy when I see one! I would have tried something with him instead of just sitting around and teaching him. He's cute and he's nice and I think he'd make a great boyfriend. You've got the perfect set up, and you know what? If you don't take advantage of it, I might take him up!"

"I don't think he'd go for that." Misty smirked. "Even with your devilish charm. I hear that he's not looking for a relationship."

She leaned back cockily, striking her final blow with a sort of grace that, although it was humiliating and it was directed at her, Misty couldn't help but admire in some way. "I hear he's into redheads."

Still, as much as she admired it, she was still quite furious at it all. "Dawn, would you _shut up_?"

"Would I shut up?" she said, sounding very contemplative as she tapped her chin with her index finger. "That's a good question, because, you know, ever since that whole bike thing, everyone is really interested about you and the new kid, and I bet that if I speak up loud enough, I can start lots of really embarrassing rumors going around. What do you think I should start with first? Pregnancy? Because I think pregnancy would spread really fast."

"Are you after something, frosh, or are you just being annoying?"

She shrugged. "I guess it all depends on how desperately you want the school to ignore you. I mean, you seem like a really private person. You seem like you hate gossip. You seem like you'd want to stay out of gossip as much as possible. So much so that you'd do all over my homework for the next year, since you didn't have any of your own to work on."

Misty snorted, shaking her head. "Not even close."

"To do my math?"

"Are you in geometry?"

"Yeah."

"I hated geometry. No way I'm going through all that again."

She pouted. "Then what are you willing to do?"

Misty thought for a moment, biting her lip as she thought of a reasonable bargaining chip. "Do you like Gary Oak?"

"Mew, yes!" she squealed. "He's the hottest guy since-"

Not wanting to hear what Dawn would compare him too, or wanting to hear about Dawn ramble on about exactly what aspects of Gary Oak she found most appealing, she immediately cut in and suggested, "I can get him to tutor you in math, if you want. We're not close, but we were on Academic Challenge together last year. I think he'd do it if I asked him right, especially since you're…" Misty paused, wondering how she could put it in a way that wasn't laced with jealousy. "Because he'd think that you're really hot."

"I _am_ really hot," she corrected.

"Modesty, Dawn, have you ever heard of it?"

The blue haired girl clapped her hands merrily and giggled. "You've got yourself a deal, Misty! I get to have lots of one on one time with Gary and you don't have to get rid of creepy rumors, and maybe I can even practice my making out skills a little, if Gary's really as much of a player as you say he is."

There was nothing more to say to that, so Misty sighed and pushed away from the table. She said her goodbyes, barely noting that May had successfully finished her cereal without sogginess and was now drinking the slightly sugary milk out of the bowl with a moan that was so happy it was near sexual and strolled off again, going to the soda machines, because that was where Gary spent his time with stacks of books and a wallet so thick he could hardly jam it in his pocket.

That's where he was, reading an anatomy book and redrawing the diagrams from different angles. She took the time to stare at them, noticing how well detailed they were and how infrequently he glanced at his anatomy book. Considering she had taken anatomy the year before, she was quite positive it wasn't an assignment, and had to let herself bask in the fact that _this _was how he spent his free time. Well, aside from emptying the soda machines and making out with anything female.

She put her hands on her hips, because there was absolutely no being sweet to the boy if you wanted to get anything done, and said, "Hey, Gary, would you mind doing me a favor?"

"Hey, Red," he said without looking up, shading in what she was fairly certain was a liver. "If you want, I'm free Thursday night if you want to come up to my room."

"Charming."

"Old habits." He smirked, flicking his eyes up, pen never pausing on the page. She resisted the urge to mock him for being so cocky he sketched in pen. "So, don't tell me you came over because of something Ash related. Just because we're rivals doesn't mean I'm going to beat him up whenever someone asks me to."

"It's not about Ash."

He snorted. "Liar."

"It's not."

"It's always about Ash."

"It is _not_. It's about a friend."

His pen stopped now, and he propped his chin up on his hand far too enthusiastically for her liking. "Is she cute?"

"Very cute," Misty said, ignoring his growing smile. "You're good in geometry, and she could really use some help. I've got my hands full with Ash and since you're always looking to spend time with cute girls, I figure that you might like to take the job. It's Dawn Berlitz, and she would love for you to tutor her."

"Berlitz is sexy as fu-"

"Yeah, I know," she snapped. "And I'm trusting you to understand that, with you being eighteen, sex between you two is completely and undeniably illegal. I'm hoping you're smart enough to not take that risk and wind up in jail, ruining a promising career in the research field for one night of fun. Also, you should know that if I find out you've seen any part of her naked, I swear I will castrate you."

"No problem. I don't plan on much more than some under the shirt action."

"Really, Gary, it's a wonder they haven't crowned you king at Miss Manner's School for Upstart Young Gentlemen," she drawled, about to walk away.

He grabbed her hand, surprisingly lightly, and she stared at where they touched, confused. "And, in a roundabout way, it was about Ash."

"Oh, what do you care?" She yanked her hand away so she could cross her arms, wondering why on earth Gary Oak would be putting his hand on hers, knowing full well that she never dated and, after several failed attempts of hitting on her last year, was not interested in giving him a five minute lay in the back of his car.

He laughed lightly, flexing his hand strangely. "It'll make sense to you soon enough. You know, when that new kid buzz should have worn off and it doesn't. That's when you'll figure out that this whole wide world revolves around Ash Ketchum."

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Oak."

"He gets you in his room. How could I not be?"

"Pig," she scoffed, and the bell rang.

Off she went to class, and the next class, and the next, until sometime in the morning her business class was interrupted, and once again she found herself strolling along the hallway, glaring at cameras, and wondering why she couldn't be called in before or after school so she wouldn't have to miss her precious class time. Not that anyone seemed to care this time, as the secretary couldn't be bothered to look up from her paperwork and merely waved Misty towards Lorelei without quip or depressing statement which, strangely enough, only served to make her even more nervous than before.

But Lorelei was smiling, leaning forward over her desk with a nonthreatening curiosity that only she, out of every region's headmaster, could pull off. "How did your first night with Ash go? I didn't get any complaints so I'm assuming you either worked well together or you worked out a way to kill him quietly."

Misty leaned close as well, though her leaning was much less to do with a curious headmaster and much more the guilty murderer and whispered, "Can you keep a secret?"

"Oh, stop," she scolded, sitting back. Still, she smiled nevertheless because she was one of the few staff members there who did have a sense of humor. "I'm very proud that you managed to get along with him, and I'm sure you'll be able to continue that if you work hard."

"We don't need to continue. He's _fine_."

"Misty, you know I can't disclose another student's grades to you, but I can safely assure you that Ash needs a tutor is he wants to graduate."

"It's not like he even needed me," she argued, finally taking a seat. "He just repeated everything right back to me once I went through it with him. He could do everything just fine. I mean, it's not like he's going to be getting straight A's or anything, but if he takes the time to read his books and maybe takes the time to ask questions in class, I don't think he's going to have any problems here."

"Repeating it hasn't been the problem. He does just fine in most math classes, specifically Algebra classes, but any class where he has to write an essay or critically think he freezes up and fails. You made sure he understood it, didn't you?" Lorelei prodded.

"What do you mean? 'Course he did. He repeated it back to me perfect and we got through his homework together alright."

The older women frowned. "Yes, but did he _understand_? Do you think he could write an essay on it? Or even interpret?"

"How could he know all that and not understand it?" the redhead fumed. "I'm telling you, he said it all right back to me perfect. It was like he had a tape recorder stuck inside of him. He did perfectly fine last night. I'm not saying it to get out of tutoring, I'm saying it because he really, really seemed to get it.

Lorelei rubbed her temples for a moment, glaring down at her fine mahogany desk with the utmost patience, before sighing rather dramatically and raising her head, leaning it against one hand, and idly inquiring, "Have you ever heard of a chatot?"

It clicked with her, eyes widening and mouth dropping wide. She slammed her hands onto the desk, bellowing, "That boy is dead! That jerk! That absolute jerk! I'm giving up my time to help him and he's not letting me know what's going on! He's wasting my time and his! Who the hell does he think-"

"Calm down." Lorelei said smoothly.

"I will not calm down! He just-"

"Yelling at me won't solve your problem," she continued. As if on cue, the school bell rang in the background, and conversations started up as kids rushed into the hall. "He's your student, you're responsible, you solve the problem."

And off she stormed.

However, on her quest, she came across May, who had been having a terrible day. Aside from her wonderful job eating her cereal before it went soggy, and her discovery that she had eighteen emails and none of them were spam, nothing else had gone right. Most of her classes had gone right over her head, and her notes were filled with half-hearted doodles of her pokémon Skitty. None of which wouldn't be too bad, aside from the fact that she was forced to spend her first period class with Drew.

May periodically loathed Drew, specifically first period, because he spent his time flirting with all the girls in the class, who would glare her way because, not only was Drew her partner, but she didn't appreciate Drew as her partner. That meant she deserved a fiery death, dragged down to hell by her eyelids, while Drew cackled condescendingly overhead. This might have been an exaggeration, but it didn't feel like it to May. Mostly because May liked to exaggerate things and pretend that the whole world was a whirlwind adventure.

But the problem of the day was when Drew left class, which should have been a happy event. However, one of his many creepy fangirls slithered up and hissed, "Enjoy taking yourself to the dance, bitch, because no way in hell is Drew going to take you!"

May, who did enjoy dance and had gone to many with her friends, wondered if going to a dance really was the symbol of being worthy. She doubted that, because many of her friends hated the school dances and never attended, and they seemed to be getting along just fine in life. But May couldn't just let a comment like that slide, because bullying was not okay in her book, so she responded with her hands on her hips, huffing, "I don't even want to go with Drew. I'd like to go with someone nice. Someone who won't flirt with other girls all night."

"Jealous, bitch?" she scoffed.

"No!" she cried, wondering how the girl could have gotten jealousy from her statement. "I just said-oh, forget it."

So she stormed off, much like Misty had a few minutes earlier, into the hallway and right up to a poster that had a terrible picture of people dancing under a bunch of trees that had their leaves changing color and falling off in a rather clichéd fashion. She glared up at it for a moment, then said, "You stupid fall dance. I went to you alone every year, but not this year. I'm going to have a date this year, and everyone is going to be super jealous."

She glared at it for a few more minutes, then continued, "This year, I'm going with the hottest guy in school. I think Drew likes me. Everyone says he does and I think we got really close after spending the summer practicing together and texting and emailing and talking on the phone with each other. I'm going to do it. I'm really going to do it."

Misty was storming by, and she stopped herself for a moment, calming enough to put a reassuring hand on her friend's shoulder without bruising it. "Don't worry, May. You don't have to feel bad about it. You'll get a da-"

The brunette cut her off, crossing her arms. "Shut up, Misty. I'm not going to cry."

"Oh." She hesitated. "Can I, uh…Can I go kill Ash? I just found out my whole brave adventure to the boys' dorm was a complete waste because he's a no good lying bastard."

"Yes," May said, glaring up at the poster. "Yes, you can."

Had Misty been a tad less mad, she would have noticed something was wrong and bothered asking May about her troubles. However, Misty was blinded by rage and quite intent on punching Ash as hard as she could in the face. She left May with her own problems and her own bad day, and ran off to try and make hers a little better. She wound up in a hallway she rarely went down, and marched right up to the boy who still carried a Pikachu on his shoulder, despite all rules and precautions which stated he shouldn't.

She let out quite a few frustrations before trying to talk. She punched his shoulder four or five times, surprised that he did little more than gawk at her, and even more surprised that she managed to hit the shoulder he didn't carry his pokémon on. She ignored the scene she was making in the hallway, how the kids around her were taking out cell phones and filming and gossiping and laughing at the new special student getting scolded.

Once she'd finished with that, she snapped, "No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at _you _sir, but I do bite my thumb, sir! Ash Ketchum, I'm asking you to tell me what that means because, let me tell you, I sure as hell mean it as sarcastically as I can right now!"

He pushed himself against the lockers, swallowing nervously as he gazed into her terrifying, furious face. On top of her scary demeanor, his shoulder was hurting. He had also just had a terrible time in English, because the teacher had asked him questions and he had stared at her, wide eyed and frozen, while the other kids giggled at him on a boy named Kenny poked at him and pointed to the answer he had written on a scrap piece of paper.

Pikachu wasn't of much help. She wouldn't do a thing unless Misty really tried to hurt Ash, or capture Pikachu. He had trained his companion well, though at the moment he wished that the little rat was as aggressive as the day he first got her, because he was sure a good zap would get Misty off of him. Pushing thoughts of rescue away, as he knew the only help he'd get from the crowd would be putting their phones away and forming a fight circle, he began, "It's from Romeo and-"

"But what's it _mean_, you idiot?" she hissed, and punched his shoulder again.

"It…it's about biting your thumb and-"

"Do you even know if it's comic or dramatic?" she fumed.

He relaxed a bit, because she hadn't hit him that time. "Well, you said the play's a drama so-"

"Can you translate it into modern day English?"

"Uh-"

"No, _Ash._" She slammed a fist into his shoulder, and fed up with the jostling, Pikachu leapt to the ground. "I'm not flipping _you_ off, _Ash_, but I am flipping _someone_ off, Ash." She smacked his shoulder again, then a few more times just because of how fantastic it felt. "You didn't learn a damn thing! Tonight you're learning something if we have to stay up all night to do it! If you ever parrot me again I'm going to get my gyarados to drag you underwater and keep you there until those last little air bubbles leave your stupid, ugly face!" And, leaving him speechless, she stormed off.

Then, a single snigger escaped the group and Melody called, "Lady problems, Ketchum?" and the entire group dissolved into helpless giggles, leaving Ash to bury his face in his locker and hope that he would die before word got all around the school that he had gotten burned in Shakespearean by a girl, and his faithful pokémon had done nothing but stand there, looking bored.

"This is your fault, you know," he muttered.

Pikachu looked up at him lazily, opened her mouth wide, and began pointing in hopes that Ash would feed her ketchup.

He did, of course. The sucker.

So, Ash went to complain to Gary about all his problems. He didn't do it because he and Gary were friends, or because he wanted to be friends, but simply because he didn't know anyone well enough yet to complain to them. Gary, in return for a lifelong rivalry, half listened and made all the sympathetic noises and all the sympathetic times, and told Ash that the Williams girl wasn't so bad, once you got to know her.

"You know her?"

"Sort of," he said, and shrugged off the comment strangely quickly, flashing him a smirk and inquiring, "You going to do anything with a girl in your dorm?"

Ash shook his head, putting a quarter into the vending machine. "Not that guy."

"You sure? A lot of guys would kill to be in your place, with the Williams girl," Gary said slowly, fidgeting with the schoolbag that sat next to him on the cafeteria table. Ash thought _that _was a little weird, as the other boy usually wasn't a fidgeter, not even when they talked about the subject Ash found scariest – girls.

"Why? She's not that pretty. I've seen a lot of prettier girls here." He pushed the soda button.

"But she's a Williams."

"So?" He slammed the little button again.

"They're legends. Her sisters were really pretty and huge flirts, and great in bed too. She must have learned something from them, right?" Gary cleared his throat, which was again, weird, because Gary never had anything caught in his throat and always spoke perfectly. "At least, that's what everyone's rooting for. No one's found out."

He pressed the button rapidly, much more concerned about getting his soda rather than why his usually calm and collected friend was acting so strangely. "Find someone else to do your research, because I'll never know."

"You're gay?"

"No," he muttered, kicking the machine. "But love stuff freaks me out."

"Oh." Gary nodded slowly. "I bought everything in the machines already."

* * *

Oh, Gary. The fun I will have with you!

…Uh, character wise, of course. Ignore the rather sexual undertones of that previous comment. I don't know how those got there.


	5. She Wouldn't

Wow, chapter five already. I feel like I should be making these chapters longer, but I like the short chapters for this. Five thousand to seven thousand words seems good to me. Does it seem good to you? Seems great to me. And, you know, being as awesome as I am at absolutely everything, I'm probably right.

* * *

**She Wouldn't**

"Ash Ketchum," Gary said with a remarkable amount of drama. "I'm going to date your tutor."

The black haired boy stared for a moment, wondering what to do. He was in _Gary's _dorm, after all, drinking _Gary's _soda, eating _Gary's _chips with _Gary's _friends. Well, one of Gary's friends. Kenny was definitely his friend first, and Brock was considered mutual ground. Granted, for him it was still the dorm room from hell, but he imagined that it could get worse. He could get kicked out and, without snacks, he imagined that he would have no other choice but to study.

So he chugged the last of his orange monstrosity of sugar, summoned up his hopes that he wouldn't have to study anymore that night, and retorted, "Sure you will, Gary."

"I will."

He snorted, crumpling the can and tossing it into a trash can at the other side of the room. "Okay. Sure. You're going to get a smart girl who's stubborn, has a quick temper, and has a few pokémon that could turn you into ground meat, to say yes when you ask her out on a date. Not only is it not going to happen, you're going to give up in the first five seconds when she tells you that she doesn't kiss until the third date, and even that's only if you a nice guy."

"I'm a nice guy." Ash snorted, and Gary pushed, "I'm a nice guy! It's not like I go around ruining people's bikes, _Ketchum_."

"You called Kenny a loser five minutes ago!"

"Kenny is a loser," Paul muttered, the cloth he was using to shine he pokeballs speeding with his sudden vigor for the subject. "He gets thrown into a dumpster every day, not to mention he gets pranked every night with shaving cream. That's the kind of stuff that only happens to a loser."

"You're my roommate!" Kenny fumed.

"So?"

"So? So you're the one pulling the pranks!" he cried. "And it's not my fault I get thrown in the dumpster! It's Dawn's fault! Half the time, I'm the only guy that she'll give the time of day to, so all her stupid fanboys get mad at me and beat me up. I don't even _like _her like that. She doesn't like _me _like that! It's not my fault we're childhood friends. We just happened in to grow up in the same town! Is it really that weird?"

"See? How can you not think he's a loser?" Gary argued.

"Shut up, Kenny's plenty cool," Ash defended, and he did so full heartedly, sitting up in his chair and nodding at the younger boy. "He's a great, great coordinator and everything. And he's…he's a good guy. He'll be there to help when you need it. And…well, he's got to be good with something else. You're good at school, right Kenny?"

"I get mostly B's," he admitted sheepishly.

"Congrats, you're the epitome of manliness and you're not smart enough to be a nerd," Gary said flatly. "Honestly, I don't know how I ever could have thought you were a loser. My mistake, Kenny. You're going to be Prom King this year. Screw the fact that you're a freshman, you have my vote."

"He's a good guy!" Ash insisted, and then, because he was incredibly immature, threw a chip at him. "Better than you, anyway."

Gary shrugged. "Fine, Kenny's an awesome guy. Let's get back to dating your tutor."

Ash had a number of arguments on the tip of his tongue for Kenny, but the boy was blushing and staring at him with big, innocent eyes that were begging him to stop, so he bit them back and leaned back in his chair once more, slowly drawling, "Don't you mean _banging _my tutor?"

"No, I meant what I said. I don't want to bang her and leave. I actually want to date her." He surveyed their shocked faces and smirked to himself, noting that even Paul had stopped shining to look at him. Though, admittedly, Paul mostly seemed to be checking that he had heard right, and once that mid interest had passed went back to ignoring the conversation again. "I want to go to the movies and share a bucket of popcorn and go on a walk in the park and do all the stupid stuff dating people do. You know, holding hands or some crap."

Ash's brow wrinkled. "You don't _date_."

Brock sat up, suddenly smiling. "Hey, do you guys think that Erika would go for me?"

"You _don't_ date," Ash growled, gripping the bag tightly. "Even if you did date, which you don't, it wouldn't be a Misty. It'd be a…it'd be a Candy. It'd be a Candi who spells her named with an 'I' instead of a 'y', and Misty would never, ever be stupid enough to go out with someone who has a track record like yours."

Brock looked around, and apparently oblivious to the fact that no one was paying attention to him, and seemed like they really wouldn't care about his hopeful soon-to-be-dating status with Erika. "Because we were talking the other day, and I thought-"

"And she wouldn't say yes. There's no possible way Misty would _ever _say yes. You don't _date_, you don't date girls like _her_, and she wouldn't say yes to a date with someone like _you_. Girls like Misty don't date guys like you. If she says yes, I'll…I'll run down the hallways naked. That's how stupid I think this is."

The brunette grinned, standing up. "Is that a promise?"

"Yeah, it's a promise," Ash snapped. "I'm not scared to make it, because there's no way it's ever going to happen. She wouldn't go out with someone who probably has more diseases than I do failed papers."

"But if it does?"

"It won't."

"But if I ask out Misty Williams, and she says _yes_, no strings attached." He reached his hand forward, thumb stick out in true handshake form. "I'm not talking about asking her out and telling her it's because it'll embarrass you, I'm not talking about paying her so I can win a bet, I mean if I ask her and she just outright says _yes_ when I ask her out, you're going to streak around these hallways completely naked? Is that a promise, Ketchum?"

"It's a bet," Ash said, eyeing him. "But you can't do anything else. You can't take her to the fanciest place in Paris or something, because that'd be cheating. It has to be a regular date."

"You guys, I really think Erika's into me."

"No girl will ever like you," hissed Paul.

"Leave him alone, Paul," Ash snapped, then glanced back to Gary. "Yeah, if you promise that you're not going to cheat, I'll do it. I'll run around the halls naked. It's not going to happen, because the second you ask her she's going to reject you. You have a reputation, Gary, and no self-respecting girl is going to go anywhere near you."

"Ash, do you think she's into me?" Brock asked.

"Do you, Ash?" Paul snickered. "You told me to shut up, so why don't you tell me what the great and powerful Ash thinks?"

He pushed himself to his feet, his face strangely twisted. "You know, Gary, all this talking is making me think about my underwear, and how I should change them, and you know how my mom is always bugging me about that. I haven't called her today, so I think I better before she goes to sleep. I mean, it's already six, who knows how late it is in Pallet."

"It's eight," Paul said coolly. "I think you have the time."

"I really need to be back in my room before Misty shows up," Ash said nervously, and bolted out the door.

This was a terrible plan, as Misty wasn't in for another hour, and he didn't have a television in his room, or snacks, or drinks, or any human companionship. So he picked up Pikachu and brushed her coat, filed her nails, and gave her one of the massages she likes so much for putting up with the nail grooming. When Misty finally came in, she picked up his history book from the floor and dropped it on his desk, telling him to read, before walking off.

Since Ash hated to study, he daydreamed, which caused him to suddenly realize that this was, quite likely, the only time he would have a girl in his bed, and he supposed he could do worse. Blue jean shorts, a red shirt with some sort of inspirational saying on the back, and a romance novel that looked absolutely full of the kind of sweet nothings he would never figure out how to say. He then proved this by opening his mouth wide and stating, "I could tell everyone in the school that I had Misty Williams in my bed, getting all romantic, and it wouldn't even be a lie."

"Yeah do that," she said. She would have rolled her eyes, but she was reading. Angelo was kissing down Sara's neck, and pretty soon they would be undressed and doing the horizontal mambo in a way so over the top she wouldn't be too surprised if she ended up giggling at how ridiculous the whole thing was, and then sighing oh so romantically a few minutes later.

Ash didn't look back at his work, however, instead opting to ask, "Why does Gary buy up all the soda?" after considering how Gary had made a soda pyramid in his room and wondering why on earth a human being would ever take the time to do such a thing.

"'Cuz he's a dick," she replied, absently turning another page as Angelo and Sara were interrupted by a pirate attack because, like most romance novels, this one was pirate themed. Knowing that he would bother her on the subject, she continued, "You know chapter three is due tomorrow, and you'll probably have a quiz to catch the kids who didn't read. You know, the kids like you. How far have you gotten?"

"Second base, once. It was kinda an accident though. It was with Gary's sister, actually. Want to hear the story? It's a really good one."

"How far have you gotten in _history_?" she emphasized, peaking up from over her book.

"I still can't figure out how to go from happy flower picking Johtans to war mongering psychopathic Johtans and back to the flower pickers again. This is stupid."

"Yes. It is," she said, going back to her scene once more. "Figure out why they're stupid."

Pestering was in Ash's nature, however, especially when he was bored. He whined desperately, "But I don't _get_ it."

She rubbed her temples, setting her book aside, and hoping that a quick little lecture would end it once and for all and she could finally get back to her bodice ripping good time. "Ash Ketchum, you are Lance's little star. You're supposed to be the next _Champion_. As the best battler to ever grace these halls, apparently, you should be able to figure out basic cause and effect. If you hit a fire type with a water type, you get a super effective hit, because water puts out fire. See?"

She was reaching for her books when he moaned, once again, "But I can't and it's boring and stupid and you're supposed to be helping!"

"Oh no, not tonight." She chuckled darkly, raising her eyes to glare at him across the room. "See, if you don't tell me that you're having problems with something, like how you were only parroting and didn't understand, I can't help you. It's like I'm not even here. So, maybe when you make an ass out of yourself tomorrow you'll figure that you _need_ me to be here, so I can teach you instead of _program _you."

"I'm sorry." He made his eyes go round and his lip stick out a bit, sad when she ignored him and picked up her book.

"Not you're not." She licked her finger and turned another page. "Not yet."

He glared down at his own page for a moment, covered with a picture of some Johto politician that he didn't know now and doubted he would by the end of the night, and then looked back at her. "Why do you lick your finger?"

"Sorry?"

"Before you turn the page, you lick your finger. How come? Does it make turning the page easier? Doesn't it give you germs since you're putting your fingers in your mouth after putting them all over your dirty book?"

"I don't _know, _Ash. I just _do_," she said with a huff. "Do your work or you'll stand even less of a chance tomorrow."

"Is it because your book is sexy?"

"Oh, fantastic. Let's play this game," she grumbled. "You realize you _do _have work to do for tomorrow?"

"Is it hot?"

"Room temperature."

"Metaphorically or physically?"

She turned scarlet then, realizing, like Ash had earlier, that she was in his bed in her typically low amount of clothing, reading a romance novel, and licking her page every few minutes in a tutoring scenario she was quite positive showed up as a subplot in a number of her _other _romance novels. So she focused more intently on the page, suddenly glad it was an action and not a romance scene, and returned, "Do your damn work."

* * *

May had woken up at five in the morning that day, to her discontent. She spent twenty minutes trying to ignore Dawn's quiet snores and squeezing her eyes shut before she realized that there was no getting back to sleep, though she was sure she'd be exhausted by the time lunch came around. So she swung out of bed and marched over to Dawn's, shaking her awake until the blue haired girl narrowed her eyes and groaned her way.

"What do you _want_?" she sulked, blowing her bangs from her face.

May angled her body so Dawn couldn't see the clock, because she didn't want to be yelled at for waking the other girl up two hours early. Then she thought about the other girl's question, realizing she didn't really have a reason for waking her up, except for, perhaps, wanting to make her suffer as well. But that wasn't it, so she smiled brightly and said, "I don't know. Are you doing anything right now?"

She clutched her pillow tightly, her voice shaking with rage, "You have five seconds to rephrase that question."

"Do you want to do something?"

"Unless school is starting, I want to _sleep_," she fumed. "Who's so crazy that they wake someone up at Palkia-knows-when in the morning and they don't even have anything to do? You better bring out a male stripper or something or I'll…I'll…" But she couldn't think of an adequate threat, as it was very early, so she settled for sticking her tongue out and scrunching her face up tight and pulling the covers up sharply over her head.

"Misty used to wake me up even earlier than this, sometimes," May argued quickly, tugging her pillows back down. "This one time, we snuck out to the pool. I couldn't believe it. It's three in the morning, and she shows up in a bathing suit. No towel, no shoes, no hair tie, just a swimsuit. She said that I didn't have time to change, so I went in my pajama pants. I don't even remember how we snuck past the guards. All I remember was that we jumped into the pool, and if I hadn't been so scared someone would hear, I would have screamed. Misty actually _did _scream."

"Did you have a good swim?" Dawn asked, hoping to reach the story's end.

May giggled, shaking her head. "Oh, no. It was _terrible_. The water was so cold, and the pokémon were all still sleeping and it's not like we had anything to do. We ended up holding onto the side and complaining about how cold it was. I mean, even Misty was shaking a bit. My teeth were chattering the whole time. But, you know, even though it should have been really stupid and boring, it was fun."

"Fantastic."

She put her head in her hands, thinking back to the late night escapades. "I think she did it because, well, it was my freshman year. I was so nervous about everything. It was high school. I had seen all those stupid movies and I was so convinced that all anyone wanted to do was offer me drugs or beat me up or spread rumors about me being a slut, I guess. I thought it was going to be hell. And she went and took me out and we did all this really stupid, dangerous stuff, which was only fun because it was so stupid."

"And you never got caught?" Dawn asked dubiously.

She laughed now, leaning against her bed, and Dawn bit her tongue to keep from yelling as the clock came into view. "Are you kidding? We got caught all the time. That time in the pool? I got yelled at for over an hour about how sick I could have gotten. I got detentions and in-school suspensions and so many lectures. I ended up repeating one practically word for word to Max when I went home. But it wasn't that bad. It wasn't as horrible as everyone says. I wasn't scared anymore."

"That's a beautiful story," Dawn said flatly. "Thanks for waking me at five to tell me. Really changed my life, so worth missing a few minutes of sleep and being grumpy for the rest of the day. So, are you going to go back to bed or do I have to pretend to listen to you even more?"

May grinned. "You were too listening."

"I'm going back to sleep."

"Bet you're not."

Dawn rolled over and shut her eyes, waiting a grand total of thirty two minutes before she rolled right back and whipped out a stack of cards without a word, and the two played War until six thirty rolled around, and they heard busy sounds coming from their hallway. They left the game on the floor and dressed before going their separate ways, leaving them both to wonder what, exactly, they had been talking about that morning.

May had it stuck in her head for the morning, turning over why she had done it and wondering if Dawn thought that she was a freak and found herself staring blankly at the sky while she was running cross country. Since it was an uneven path, the inevitable occurred and she ended up flat on her face, spitting out dirt while surrounding kids alternated between laughing and wondering, "Are you okay?" before seeing her uninjured and moving on. Then, Ash reached out his hand and helped her up, clearly trying his hardest not to laugh at her soil and grass stained uniform.

"If you really need to, just laugh already," she groaned.

So he did, doubling over as he did, Pikachu joining in. "How'd _that_ happen?"

"I was daydreaming."

"About what? A boy? Is he cute?" He grinned and flexed his muscles. "Is he me?"

She snorted. "Sorry, Ash. I was just going over homework problems. Which, if I heard right, you didn't get any help with last night because you got Misty all mad again. So, how'd that go?"

He blushed, looking down at his feet. "My history teacher called on me a few times, and I had to keep telling him that I didn't get it, and the one time I had it, I got it really wrong and everyone ended up laughing. I did fine in math, though. So, you know, I can do _some _of it on my own."

"Aw, Ash," she crooned.

"I know."

"That makes my face plant look brilliant in comparison," she said, and burst into her own peal of laughter, pleased to hear him join in. It felt like he needed it. And, as the conversation with Dawn floated away and the tension uncoiled in her gut, she realized that she needed it too. They laughed until the gym teacher snapped to keep moving, and they started off at a soft jog, Ash slowing to keep time with her, and spent the class trying to top each other on who had made the dumbest mistakes.

So, even though she did hate how red Ash's face had gotten and his clear embarrassment over the situation, she wasn't mad at Misty, really. She knew why Misty had done it and how, in the end, it would probably be for the best. Still, she couldn't help feeling bad for him, and when she caught up with Misty she said, "Brutal on him last night. He was so embarrassed in history." May sighed in sympathy for the poor boy, then smiled a little to herself. "I know you don't want to hear it but…"

"If you know I don't want to hear it, don't say it."

"But he looked so _cute_ though! Like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar!" she gushed, tugging on the older girl's sleeve. "You should have seen him. I just wanted to hug him and kiss everything better! I was having flashbacks to when Max was still adorable and I didn't want to kick him out of my bedroom for reading my diary every day. Tell me the truth, Misty, you can't think he's ugly when he's got the absolute _cute_st-"

Misty clung the books tighter to her chest and humphed, lifting her head to glare down the hall. "Thanks to his obnoxious personality it's impossible for me to ever think he's anything more than hideous." Her eyes snapped to May. "Don't tell me that you're falling for him."

"The harder you fight it the worse it'll get," May sang, elbowing her lightly. "You're going to make it into a forbidden romance which'll make it way more exciting and then you'll be making out in the janitor's closet before you know it!"

She rolled her eyes. "That's not going to happen."

May struck a dramatic pose. "Oh, he such a jerk and I can't stand him and even if I did this relationship is professional and it'd be so wrong which is what makes it so right!" She nudged her again. "And then you make out with Ash in the janitor's closet. That's exactly how it's going to go."

"That's not happening."

"Sure it's not, Misty," she giggled. "Sure it's not."

Which ended with the redhead making a rather rude gesture and storming off, and May continued on her way, one of the dance posters catching her eye as she went. Her feet, unbidden, found their way next to Drew's locker, and her mouth was forming the words, "Hey Drew. Are you going to the fall dance?" before her brain could catch up to the absolutely stupid, crazy thing she was doing, because she didn't even _like _Drew because he was _such _a jerk.

The irony of this against her previous statement was entirely lost on her.

"Yeah," he returned, slamming his locker shut and setting a pair of bright green eyes on her.

"Me too," she blurted, which was a lie, and she didn't understand why she had said it, but all she could think about was how his eyes were exceptionally, incredibly, wonderfully green. She opened her mouth, about to correct herself, but her courage sank through the floor and her heart jumped into her throat and she snapped her jaw shut with a nod. She only managed a squeaky, "Bye!" before she headed to her next class.

Misty, on the other hand, went through her day with an incredible lack of awkwardness. Although she did have the pleasure of opening her locker to a note that read, "U WERE SUPOSED 2 B HELPING HIM N NOW HE GOT (here, "embara" was crossed out as the note writer discovered they hadn't a clue of how to actually write the word) MADE FUN OF IN CLASS! DO UR JOB U STUPID LITTLE BITCHFACE!" And settled for rolling her eyes, crumpling it up, and hoping that Ash wouldn't stay this popular as she tossed it into the trash can, because the last thing she wanted was to get into a bunch of fights before she graduated.

In fact, the only time when things became even remotely strange was during her advertising job. It was all usual to start with. She put on her horrible baggy shirt, signed in and having a brief conversation with Surge (well, brief for Surge) in which she listened to a war story. Apparently, Surge had been saved by a Raichu, dragging him out of the trenches into a safe zone. Misty did not comment that no war she knew of in the last one hundred years had used trenches.

She was riding her bike when Gary pulled up next to her, not that she noticed it was him at first. She hardly knew him except for the easy things – Oak's grandkid, researcher, lots of money, longtime money, stuck up and hot. Well, and that he did rather well at Academic Challenge, most likely because he was Oak's grandkid, a research, had lots of money, and was hot enough to wink at opposing teams and make them melt a bit.

She didn't care that much either, at least, not for the personality or the money. Their natures had tended to clash in Academic Challenge, where she would quietly roll her eyes or snort when he went off bragging about how fantastic he was. As for the money, as long as she was running the gym all her base needs would be tended to. If she married, which she wasn't considering at the moment, all the spouse's money could go straight to luxuries, and it wasn't like she needed a lot of those either, though she supposed imported chocolates were always a plus.

"Hey, Misty?" Gary asked.

She pulled a headphone from her ear, a dramatic song from a dramatic play quieting, and eyed him. "That's my name, Gary."

"Do you have to tutor Ash tonight?"

"Not if it's a Saturday. Is it a Saturday?"

"No. Wednesday."

"Damn," she muttered, rolling her eyes up to the sky, sadly doing the math of how many more days would be devoting to teaching the boy. "Why are you asking?"

"I was wondering if you want to go on a date with me."

"I don't put out," she said immediately, snorting, hands clenching tighter around the handlebars. "I'm sick of all these crappy guys coming over to me and trying to get me to have sex with them because of my sisters. They had _boyfriends, _you know, long time boyfriends! Sure, they slept with them but they didn't sleep with _every_one. They were decent, you know? They're my sisters, too, I don't exactly like hearing how much you all think they slept around."

"This isn't about-"

She cut him off. "You're not hot enough to get me to put out. Try someone with no self-esteem if you're after a one night stand. There are plenty of girls who don't mind, who are into that sort of thing. I'm sorry. I'm not. I don't want to get pregnant right now."

"Right." He chuckled, and the bike ride became awkward as he continued along her, refusing to go away. "Would you, uh, like to go anyway?"

She blinked at him, slamming on the breaks and staring and he did the same, almost flipping over his handlebars thanks to his lack of practice. "You've got to be up to something. You don't seem like the dating type."

"I'm not, I guess." He sighed, getting a little tired of hearing the same thing for the millionth time that day. "Gramps said to try and settle down. You seem like the kind of girl who could settle down without being boring, and you're into all that romantic stuff, and considering how good I am at…I'm very good at saying romantic stuff."

"Lots of other girls like that," she argued.

"And you're sisters…taught you stuff, probably," he said, trailing off awkwardly.

"Maybe. Maybe not." She smirked. "Probably not, to be honest."

"And you're interesting."

She began biking for again, and he stayed behind her, until she nodded and put on an extra burst of speed without warning, crying over her shoulder, "Eight o' clock Saturday. If you're more than ten minutes late I'm not going."

"Where do I pick you up?" he shouted.

"Rydel's!" she shouted, then, surprising herself with a smile, spun down an alley she was sure he couldn't follow her down. The rest of her ride was surprisingly more upbeat, and she thought about her date for quite some time because, as much as she had told Gary off for it, she didn't date either. She'd gone out with a couple of guys once or twice, given them a kiss, enjoyed a game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, but she hadn't had anything serious, and wasn't entirely sure that was a bad thing. She'd never had a guy _ask _for something serious.

Her mind was as high in the clouds as May's had been when she walked into Ash's room that night, ready for another long, slow night of tutoring.

He asked, "You're going on a date with Gary?"

She jumped, typically being the one who spoke first, and not at all used to being accused the second she walked in a room. Well, not while she was at school. She couldn't count the number of times she had been accused of stealing a shirt or a hairbrush at home. She eyed him carefully, wondering if he was somehow teasing or disapproving, though she didn't see any reason why he would. From what she remembered they had some sort of rivalry, but they weren't always at each other's throats. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Gary called Drew to brag and Drew bragged to Brock and Brock teased me and I went streaking down the hall saying "Gary's dating my teacher" 'cuz we made a bet and I lost." He sighed. "I didn't think he liked you like that. I told him you wouldn't have sex with him, so I really didn't think he'd be into you. Thanks to you, every boy in this dorm has seen me naked, and it's kind of cold in here in case you haven't noticed. Not flattering."

"But boys don't talk that fast! Girls hardly talk that fast!" she cried, then froze to glare at him. "Gee, thanks. Guys only want me for sex?"

"No, _Gary _only wants you for sex, because that's what Gary thinks girls are for." He beamed. "I think they're good at teaching. Apparently, they're not good at real life stuff. If they were, they wouldn't be going on a date with Gary." And the beam vanished, his face now distorted with complete confusion. "_Why_ are you dating Gary? You know he's a total jerk half the time and he's probably got loads of AIDS."

"So are you!" she shouted.

"I don't have AIDS!"

"I meant the jerk part, you idiot!"

"Seriously, _why_ are you dating my childhood rival?" he shouted, hardly noticing Pikachu bristling behind him. "You're my teacher. That's not right!"

She spluttered for a moment, trying to think of a response, then stomped her foot and screamed, "What do you _care_? You're not competing over me! This has nothing to do with you! I'm not your teacher, I'm your tutor! My romantic life has nothing to do with you. I can go out with whoever I want, and that just so happens to be Gary. He told me he wants something serious, and maybe I'm looking for something serious! Maybe I'm looking to settle down."

He glared for a moment, crossing his arms, still completely oblivious for the electricity sparking in Pikachu's cheeks. "And in a bike shop, classy. Going to show up in your short shorts, covered in grease, tomboy? I'm sure that'll let him know how serious you are about it."

"It's none of your business!" she snapped, blushing.

"He's Romeo, I'm Mercrutio and I'm telling you he's a dumbass."

Misty froze, eyes wide with wonder. "You interpreted something. That's learning. You learned something!"

"Great, but, seriously?" He arched an eyebrow at her. "A bike shop with Gary? He'll try all your gears, that's for sure."

"Shut. Up." She slammed the books on the table, trying to hide her blush. "Show me what you have for homework."

* * *

Preview for the NEXT CHAPTER: Ash gets the starring role as Romeo and Misty tries out for Juliet! Then Drew is bitten by a vampire and he infects May and Gary is a werewolf and Spencer spiked the punch at the fall dance and now prom is going to be ruined unless our intrepid young heroes can sing and dance their way through this wacky shenanigan filled night!

(This preview is a lie. Sorry.)


	6. In Sickness

WHY DID YOU ALL LOVE THAT PREVIEW?

I find it hilarious that I have never got more requests to elaborate on something than I did for that completely random preview I made up for the last chapter. You all have to tell me, everyone who wanted to see this, I have to know why. What is this that somehow makes that preview story worthy? Is it the lulz? It's the lulz, isn't it? Damn those lulz!

* * *

**In Sickness**

For Misty, Thursday and Friday were relatively uneventful. After their first argument, Ash had let go of the whole thing and settled for occasionally muttering under his breath terrible things about Gary. She figured it was a testosterone thing and let it go, and focused instead on doing a better job tutoring him, especially in his math class where he was rapidly falling behind. She put in a few extra hours advertising, so her date wouldn't mess anything up, and barely met with her friends.

Which turned out to be a good thing, because where Misty was building up leg muscles and Ash was practicing basic algebra and Gary was still holding little get togethers in which he taunted Ash because, as promised, he was about to date his tutor, May was feeling strange. She felt a little nauseous on Wednesday night, and decided that her period was probably coming up. When she caught herself grabbing an extra quilt before she tucked into bed, because she felt fairly chilly, she thought that maybe Dawn had fiddled with the air conditioner, and banished the thoughts from her mind.

However, to Dawn's dismay, at around one in the morning May flung off her sheets and managed to stumble into the bathroom, the bathroom they shared with two other girls who would no doubt be awake shortly, and immediately vomited so hard her stomach hurt for a few seconds afterwards, until her body decided once wasn't enough and she heaved again. And again. And she moaned because this was most definitely _not _a period thing.

Dawn had believed that May was a decent enough roommate to not wake her up twice. Yesterday, the other girl had woken her to have some sort of existential moment, and, because Dawn hoped the waking up early was something that would happen once and never again. Despite the fact that May clearly couldn't help it, as she hadn't even found the time to turn on the bathroom light, the blue haired girl couldn't help but be mad at her.

"You okay there, May?"

"Oh, Kyogre," the brunette prayed fervently. "Burn the fever out."

"Alright then." Dawn nearly opened her mouth to ask May to keep it down, then realizing that it wasn't exactly a thing she could control, she dropped the comment and rolled over to the phone on the bedside table. With a click she had turned on the lamp, and skimmed the little hotel like list of speed dials until she found what she needed, and held down the three until she heard the pleasant, "Good morning, sir or madam. How may I help you?" of the school nurse.

"Could you fix my roommate?"

"No problem, dear. I'm guessing at this time at night it's an illness, so could you list the symptoms?" she continued, making Dawn wonder if she was talking to an automated voice rather than an actual person, apparently for a long enough time that the nurse pressed, "Ma'am?"

"Oh. She's barfing."

"Does she do this frequently?" she droned.

Dawn pulled the phone from her ear and stared at it incredulously, not realizing in her half asleep state that the woman couldn't see her look before she drawled, "Yeah. She normally does this eight to twelve times a day, especially after she eats. What do you think that means?"

"I do not appreciate the sarcasm, miss," she said with a brief cough at the uncomfortable joke.

"She's not bulimic. We eat the same school food, so I'd say that it's some kind of fever thing. Maybe she's got the flu. I'm not a doctor, I just know that she's sick."

"A fever would be another good sign of the kind of sickness we're dealing with. If you could check, I'd very much appreciate it. Simply put your hand to her-"

"May, do you have a fever?" Dawn called, not bothering to put her hand over the receiver. She was all too glad to let the nurse know that she didn't appreciate being talked down to, and, as a high school student, knew the procedures to figure out whether or not a person's temperature was higher than normal and, even as the patient, May could most certainly figure out the she was a bit abnormal at the moment.

May moaned weakly and answered, "I'm so cold I'm shaking."

"She has a fever," Dawn confirmed. "Can you bring something for that?"

She could practically hear the grimace the nurse made as she hissed through gritted teeth, "Sure thing!" before snapping back into protocol, giving one deep sigh to relax, and reciting, "We'll have a nurse there as quick as we can. Could you give me a room number?"

The girl thought for a moment, groggy mind still realizing that faces couldn't be heard on the phone, and her previous look had been pointless, before she got around to the question once more and said, "Seven oh three, I think."

"Fantastic. Give us ten minutes."

Dawn gave a long sigh of her own, stretching and cracking a few joints as she did, then rolled out of bed to start her work. The first was tending to May. For that, she grabbed a rubberband and pulled the older girl's hair back into a loose ponytail, rubbing her back until the vomiting subsided. One of the girls from the other dorm came in, a wide eyed freshman who was already more awake than the blue haired girl, and Dawn waved her off, saying that she had it under control.

She gave May a rag wet with warm water to rinse off her mouth, and reminded her to drink and gargle some water so the acid wouldn't burn her throat or eat at her teeth once she went back to sleep. While May did that, Dawn took the bathroom trashcan and set it next to May's bed. She did a brief search of the room for some plastic bag to use as a liner, but she didn't find much, and figured she could probably get the nurse to clean it up if worse came to worse.

The sink was flicked on, a glass of water filled up, and with the same tenderness that a mother would have, Dawn eased May back into bed and tucked her in, whispering, "You've got water here if you need it, and the trashcan's here. You can go back to sleep, and I'll wake you up when the nurse comes. Don't pull out the ponytail, okay? Leave it in in case you're going to puke again."

"Thanks, Dawn."

"No problem."

That was a lie, because it was a problem. She went and tucked herself back into bed and was woken up ten minutes later by a knock to the door. The nurse who came in was smiling far too widely and had dirty blonde hair tucked behind her ears, trailing a long way down her back in a tight, neat braid. She stood straight and tall and chirped, "Sorry for the wait. Could you head down to the nurse's office for me?"

"I'm not the sick one," Dawn explained, then pointed to the bed May was asleep in. "And I don't think she's going to make it all the way to the nurse's office. I mean, that's, like, eight buildings over?"

"It's two, actually," the nurse continued happily. "You must be a freshman. Thankfully, I have a map with the highlighted route just incase this happened."

"Why do I need a map?" she continued, growing more and more suspicious by the moment.

"You have to go down to the office, as I said. This year we've instituted a bit of a quarantine, so anyone, such as you, who has had prolonged contact with a patient such as this one needs to be held for twenty four hours minimum and possibly have some testing done to ensure they aren't a carrier of the disease."

Dawn's eyes narrowed. "It's one in the morning."

"I apologize for the inconvenience, but I really need you to head down to the nurse's office."

She certainly didn't look like she was apologizing, as her face seemed permanently stuck smiling. It was a little eerie, and Dawn gave a little shudder at it before she stepped aside to let the nurse in. The woman nodded once and went over to her patient, not bothering to consult May before taking her temperature with a thermometer and sterilizing a needle to get a blood sample, all of which seemed rather drastic for what was probably just a bug that could be fixed with chicken soup and orange juice.

"Why did they start this quarantine thing?" Dawn asked, grabbing her coat from the closet. "If they've never done it before, what's the point in starting it now?"

The nurse didn't look up from her work, and put a finger to May's lips as the brunette tried to speak. "All I know is that Master Lance instituted it. His reasons haven't been disclosed."

Dawn's jaw clenched so tight she was barely able to growl, "It's because of _Ketchum_, isn't it?"

* * *

Ash had thirty two messages left on his cell phone over the next twenty four hours of Dawn's quarantine. He listened to the first half of them in study hall, phone pressed to his ear, and a pen and paper in front of him as he wrote down all of the words he didn't know the meaning of them. Needless to say, when he showed them to his tutor that evening, she wasn't too thrilled to define any of them. However, Drew was quite fascinated in what he was doing, and came to sit with him.

"Why are you writing down curse words?" he asked, watching Ash horribly misspell a word that should have started with a 'c'.

"Misty told me that whenever I find a word I don't know in a book or in a conversation or in a movie or whenever, I should write it down. Then, when I go back to get tutored, I have to look them up in a dictionary and write down the definitions. She says if I don't have any words I don't know, I have to go and look for them in a really hard book. Today I'm using Dawn's messages to get vocab words. I think ten should be enough."

Drew stared at the list, eyes widening as he realized that it was the lively freshman who had been teaching Ash a remarkable amount of vocabulary words, before shaking it off and asking, "Hey, do you know why May wasn't in any of her classes today?"

"She's sick," Ash explained. "That's why Dawn's in quarantine. She's mad at _me _for it, but I have no idea why. It's not like I'm the one who put her in there. Unless I have an evil twin who works in the nurse's office."

The other boy leaned forward, frowning a bit. "She's sick? Do you know what she has?"

"You know, having an evil twin would be really cool. You could get away with anything, because you could just say that your evil twin did it."

"I was asking about May. You know, sick? Absent?" Drew pressed. "Do you know if she's okay?"

"But then you'd be the evil twin," Ash said, clearly lost in his own world. "So, if I'm actually the evil twin, does that mean my evil twin turns good? Is that how it works? But what if you couldn't prove that you were the good twin, and the bad twin fakes that he's the good twin and you get sent to jail in his place, letting him go on a killing spree across the country."

"I'm going to go find out about May," Drew said, pushing to his feet, and left with Ash still mulling over the possibilities of having an evil twin.

However, with Ash being no help as to how sick May was, Drew had to take his time gauging his reactions. He had to be prepared for it to go either way. If she was terribly sick, he definitely didn't want to come off as a jerk. On the other hand, if she just had a cold, running in over concerned would blow his cool. And there was something in there about a crush. He didn't like to dwell on that last part too often, mostly because having a crush was something that could damage his reputation that he cherished ever so much.

He doubled his notes during the rest of the study hall. He doubled the day's date and he rewrote the same words he'd done earlier, but he did it slow. Each word was his best handwriting, slow and curved in his printing-cursive mixed handwriting, until he had the day's work copied and ready to show her. Then he went to her room, books tucked under his arm, and rapped on the door three times before waiting, because knocking more would be far too desperate.

The nurse with the tight braid opened the door, smiling her ever present smile and said, "May has a slight fever. Unless you're willing to get vaccinated, you can't see her. Well, that or you'll have to be in quarantine for twenty four hours or more. Considering how the last girl reacted, I don't think you'll enjoy it too much."

"Drew?" came a yelp form in the room, and he went on tiptoe to see May curled up in bed, holding the covers to her chest. "Why are you here?"

"It sounds like you caught stupidity," he said, sighing in mock sympathy. "I don't think the nurses are qualified to treat that. I called up my mom and I whipped up a homemade recipe for a stupidity cure. If you want to get better, you should take it two to three times a day and call your doctor in the morning."

She eyed him suspiciously, sniffling and holding the covers closer as a bit of a chill came over her. "What's the cure for stupidity?"

"Homework." He held up the papers, and strode by the nurse.

It meant he was in for a shot later, because he planned to keep bringing her homework and he couldn't do that if he was stuck with a raving Dawn. Still, if May had realized that, she didn't say anything, and Drew swore he saw a flicker of glee across the nurse's face as she darted to her medical kit and began sterilizing a needle and filling it with some clear liquid he guessed would be flowing through his veins not too long from now. He shook that off and gave her the pile, fighting a smile as she looked through.

"These are done," she murmured.

"Yes. I do my homework even when you're not there. It was hard to read the board through my tears," he drawled, leaning against her bed.

"But all the notes, all the work, you're just…giving it to me?" Her big blue eyes locked on his, and, hating himself for falling for the cliché, he felt like if wanted to stand he wouldn't have been able to, and found himself longing to kiss her, even if it was just once. Then, she continued on, a bit of a sly smile emerging, and she giggled. "I thought you didn't like me."

"You can copy it, not take it," he said, jolted out of his stupor and completely forgetting all the time he had taken to copy them for her. "It's not like it's a rose."

She scowled. "Why are you-?"

"It's that hard to think I'd do something nice?" he said, smirking. "You know, if you'd listen to some of those rumors you'd find out I'm a good guy."

"You _hate _me," she argued softly. "Why would you do this for me?"

He stared for a moment, because he certainly couldn't have been cruel enough for _that_, could he? Surely she had to know that he was only teasing. He had never said anything especially hurtful. Well, except for the hair thing. And the body thing. And the, well, the a lot of things. As he began to try and think of examples of why she would think he hated her, he came up with far more than he was comfortable with and said, "I _don't _hate you."

"Could have fooled me."

He shrugged. "I like messing with you. You're an easy target."

It struck him a little too late that "easy target" was probably not the best thing to say, especially when trying to woo a girl.

She grit her teeth. "Could leave before I do something I'll regret later?"

"When you're done, have the nurse come by my room." He snatched a marker from her desk and scribbled his room number on her hand, ignoring the clamminess the fever had caused. "Drop off my homework so I don't get in trouble tomorrow when I have to turn it in."

She stared at the number in awe, and for a second he was flattered. Until she gasped, "Your handwriting is _just _like a girl's."

The flattering feeling vanished almost instantly, and he deadpanned, "You're welcome," followed by, "Kyogre!" and a leap to his feet.

He spun to see the tight braid nurse proudly holding up a now empty syringe, and the pain radiating from his arm was suddenly shocking, especially as he touched it and felt the cool wetness of the alcohol she used to sterilize the spot. Somehow, shockingly quickly, she had indeed managed to get all of that done without him feeling anything but the pinprick, and she seemed to take a great delight in that.

"You could have _warned _me!" he said, grabbing at his upper arm.

She cocked her head to the side. "It's better if you keep the muscle relaxed, sir."

* * *

May appreciated the nights Drew spent with her. He'd come with stack of papers and books from his classes and hers and they reviewed. They quizzed each other over strategies and had surprisingly deep conversations about their literature class and sparingly fun debates over history and science. He helped her with her math and she laughed and corrected his grammar when he scribbled down answers to whatever essay problem he had.

He wasn't supposed to be there, and was risking a week's worth of detention for being it, but he did it. He had the constant presence of the tight braided nurse, who he never dared to ask the name of, and May had quietly apologized for a number of times. He only made a joke of it and pressed on. When she told him that he didn't have to come, or that he'd get in trouble, he'd joke about that too, then refocus her attention on school, never letting her have too much time to mull over his actions.

"We've got a chaperone, May," he said, flipping his hair. "I don't think it matters if I'm hanging out in the girl's dorm when _she's _here."

Every night he knocked and strode in like he owned the place, dragging Dawn's blanket onto the floor because he claimed it was too dirty to sleep on. He shouldn't have gotten along with her, or wanted to help her, but he smiled like a friend and brushed the hair back from her eyes once or twice and made the whole thing awkward. Well, awkward for her, because he always continued on like it hadn't meant anything. There was very little yelling and the teasing felt like really teasing, not insults, and she felt a bit lost from all of it, wondering why things were they way they were and why they had changed so suddenly.

She supposed he was being friendly. A touch on the hand or brushing back her hair didn't mean anything to a boy like him, because he was a heartthrob and the only boys she ever had was the occasional creepy boy at the mall who stared at her breasts the whole time they talked to her. Still, it still felt like _something_, and she wished that they were alone, just incase it was something, and could turn into something even more, if not for the ever present nurse looking over their shoulders.

One day, it came true. The nurse declared that she was all better with a slight weakening in her smile, and told her to stay in her room for one more day to make sure there wasn't a relapse, and be sure to scrub the room down clean and spotless so the disease wouldn't spread. Her first day of health was spent scrubbing down her room with chemicals so strong they made her dizzy. She had to open her windows and door, and girls on their way to their own dorms would complain about the smell.

"Is Dawn coming back today?" he asked, stretching out the covers as he helped her put the fresh sheets on her bed. "Or is she stuck in solitary confinement until you're one hundred percent germ free?"

"She'd be here already if she'd just take the stupid shot," May grumbled. "She keeps telling me that the nurses get a kick out of pain. Isn't that ridiculous?"

Not especially. Not to Drew, anyway, who still remembered the terrifying smile on the nurse's face as she showed him the needle she had used to jab him with. Instead of insisting that there may have been some truth to Dawn's claim, he focused on the moment at hand. He and May were alone in her room, albeit with the door open, and the whole place smelling so clean he could perform open heart surgery in the bathtub.

"So, are you finally feeling okay?"

She shrugged. "I woke up without a fever. I haven't thrown up in two days. My nose was kind of clogged, but after all the chemicals it's fine. I've got a headache, but, you know, chemicals. I'll probably be back in school tomorrow. It's pretty good, because if I was sick for any longer my mom said she was going to catch the first plane out here and fix me up." She laughed a little. "I love her, but I don't really want her at my school, you know? Even if she was taking care of me."

"It weird," he said carefully, taking a step towards her. "It kind of looks like you have a fever."

"A fever?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Yes, a fever," he drawled casually. "It's one of those things where your body temperature raises as a response to a virus. Sometimes you'll feel especially cold and you'll shiver, or you'll feel especially hot. After being sick, you should know this, May."

"I _do _know that," she snapped.

"Then why'd you ask?"

"Because I don't think I have one." She put her hand to her head, not thinking about how every part of her body would have heated up if she had a fever and it's awfully hard to tell for one's self how high the fever really is. Then she darted into the bathroom and glared into the mirror, poking at her cheeks and sticking out her tongue, before rushing back over to him. "I don't think I do. I don't think I look flushed. Do I look flushed?"

"A little."

"Well, a little shouldn't count." She pouted, rubbing her cheeks. "It's probably another chem-"

He closed the distance between them, pressing his lips very, very softly to hers. It lasted longer than she thought kisses like that did, just holding their lips together so little tingles raced up and down her spine and her hands flexed and clenched at the thrilling sensation. He pulled away just as softly, and stayed in kissing distance for another few moments, so that she wondered if he was going to try and kissed her again.

He searched her face, then smirked. "I think you have a fever. You're really flushed."

And for some reason, she found herself relying just as casually, "I should probably take something for that."

"Probably," he agreed, making the tension vanish from the room and leaving only the scent of bleach. "And I'll see you in class tomorrow."

"See you then," she said.

She stared after him, saying nothing when he closed the door behind him and trapped her with cleaning fluids, the small click of the closing door bouncing around her head. She fell back on her bed, sitting on the edge, and pressed a hand to her lips in absolute wonder. It wasn't exactly an orthodox way to get her first kiss, with a boy telling her she looked sick and then walking out like it never happened, but she had liked it.

Then it set in that she had just kissed her rival, and she whispered, "What just happened?" to a room that didn't have an answer.

* * *

Good job being sexy, Drew. It will be many chapters before you get to do that again.

...Er, spoiler?


	7. The Date

Wow! I can't believe I got this chapter out so fast! I mean, it was like, BAM! Two in a row! You guys might not even have had time to review! I mean, I'm just so lightning quick!**  
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**The Date**

In need of some girl talk, and finding Dawn mentally unstable for doing so, Misty invited May over before her date to do so. May, entirely unaware of the situation, had brought over her ribbon case to shine the prizes she had earned over the years, thinking she would need something to keep her busy. That is, until Misty started filling her in, then her mouth dropped wide open and the ribbon case was tossed aside as she leapt up to Misty, shaking her by the shoulders.

"Hold on," She gasped, stopping her rough handling of the redhead for a moment. "You're telling me that while I was throwing up and coughing up my lungs and having an all around terrible time, you, apparently, get a date with _Gary_?" Then, once Misty had opened her mouth, about to confirm and further explain, May began shaking her again, a little more violently than before. "And you didn't _tell _me? Why didn't you _tell _me?"

"I tried to tell you," Misty argued, breaking away from the girl. She walked over to her desk, palming her cell phone and seriously considering calling her sister, before sighing and settling it back down and glaring at her friend. "Every time I called you were high on cough medicine or something. Even if I did tell you, you probably wouldn't have remembered it."

She glared, snapping, "I was never high off anything."

"You kept saying the evil braid nurse was trying to kill you," Misty said, throwing her arms out to the side. "How am I supposed to take you seriously when you're talking about that? And I brought you over today just to tell you. It's not like I was planning on keeping it a secret."

"She was trying to kill me," May insisted. "Ask Dawn."

"I can't. She refuses to come inside after that solitary confinement thing." She paused, considering, then deciding May was the proper authority to tell, informed her, "Dawn left some really terrible stuff on Ash's phone, by the way. I had to get on the internet for some of that stuff and, let me tell you, if they're checking out the internet history, Ash is going to get a long talking to, because I used his computer to look all that stuff up."

"That can't be true."

"It is," Misty confirmed. "It's all over the school, and not in the iffy rumor area. Even the teachers are talking about it, and calling for some kind of reform on the whole solitary confinement thing. They think it might have actually messed with her head."

"Then how is she getting to her classes?" May shot back.

"Not a clue." She shrugged. "Anyway, about that date, should I dress up for it?I mean, what do you think he's going to do with me?"

"I wish Dawn was here to make an inappropriate comment," May sighed, falling back on the other girl's bed. "That was definitely the perfect set up."

She rolled to her stomach and watch Misty flit about the room. The girl had dragged out her suitcase, and this time May kept herself from commenting on the fact that she still hadn't unpacked. She unzipped the bag and began placing her rolled up clothes off to the side, being very careful not to unroll them, and eventually groaning softly and stacking them all back inside, leaning back on the heels of her hands and staring up at May for a long moment.

Then she jumped to her feet again, snatching her phone off the counter, then bouncing on the bed next to the brunette. She held down the three until the phone dialed, and, once the ringing stopped, she rushed, "Should I dress up for it? I mean, what do you know about him?" without bothering to say hello or even to explain who the he was, or who the it was, knowing perfectly well that whatever sister picked up the house phone would probably know everything, and already have plenty of advice to offer.

"Rumor has it he's a manwhore," Lily said, tapping her pencil lightly against the script she was reviewing for her twin Violet. Her mind idly flicked through the dating knowledge she had picked up on through the years, then sorted out the information suitable for her little sister. "So if you do dress up, nothing that shows anything. If you do, he's going to be all over you all the time. Don't want to drop hints."

She giggled, winking at May since her sister couldn't see. "Maybe I do want to drop hints. You never know."

"You're not dropping any hints," said both Lily and May, the latter of whom had scrambled off the bed to pick up her ribbon case.

She shined the gold pieces in the center of each, and when Misty frowned her way, May came back with her own, equally powerful stare. It was the stare she used to keep her brother Max from doing some sort of science experiment that would end up with him half dead and her parents scolding her for not watching him. Under the intense, older sibling-esque glare that Misty remembered from years of misbehaving, she backed down, settling for sticking her tongue out at her friend.

To her sister, she retorted, "You can't control me from so far away. I can do whatever I want."

She grunted, rolling her eyes and tapping the pencil against the script a bit harder. "You're the good child, Red, don't screw it up."

"Yeah, yeah," she said, sitting up and leaning against her stack of pillow at the head of her bed. "You know, nothing's going to happen."

There was a ding from May's cell phone, and she picked it up, eyes growing wider as she read the text. Furiously, she slammed the phone down and glare at the older girl once more, snapping, "Ash says Gary's going to 'try all your gears'. I don't know what that's supposed to mean, but I _do _know that _he _knew before I did. I'm supposed to be your best friend, Misty! How come even he knows before I do?"

Misty decided that this was far too ridiculous to get a response, especially since her face was red from Ash's accusation coming up once again, and instead focused on Lily and her expert opinion on date. "Seriously though, do I dress up or do I just…" She sighed, and Lily was quiet for it while the younger sister thought. "I should probably dress up, right? It's my first date in, basically ever. If I'm going to get into this I should start with a good note. Maybe that yellow dress?"

"It's forty two degrees tomorrow," May said, fingers flying as she texted Ash back.

"No, too cold for the dress. Wait, what about that cute white cover up thing? That would work, wouldn't it?" she asked, returning to Lily's opinion rather than May's, who had just been about to agree that, with Misty's cold resilience, that it would probably feel plenty warm and look wonderful. Instead, she went back to texting Ash and sulking at being so far out of the loop this time around. "That'll be warm enough and it'll only show my legs."

Lily's mind was already drifting back to the script, feeling like the crisis had been averted and that anything came after was no concern of hers. She was already crossing out a sentence she wouldn't say if Violet paid her all the money in the world when she mumbled, "Which is all you have to show, and would look _great_ with those heels May has."

"I'm not wearing heels. I'm wearing my flats. But…but I'll dress up. I mean, it's a date. My first really official date, even if it is with a manwhore." She grinned to herself, closing the flip out phone to hang it up, then looked at May, who was still texting back and forth with Ash, and confirmed with her, "Yeah. I'll dress up."

She looked up at that and asked, "What does 'try all your gears' mean?"

"It's an innuendo, May," Misty said flatly. "And would you stop talking to Ash? You know he's only saying it because he's got some ongoing rivalry with Gary. If it was any other guy he wouldn't even care. He's just angry because I'm dating his rival."

"Yeah, I got that it's an innuendo," she insisted, "but for what?"

"For sex."

She blushed with both frustration and embarrassment. "I know that! I mean…oh forget it."

"So, how was being sick?" Misty asked, digging through the suitcase she still hadn't unpacked for her yellow dress, and eager to change the subject to something other than the possibility of Gary wanting something more (or something less) than a relationship from their date tonight. "I heard that, thanks to Ash, you room was turned into a sterile hospital, complete with an evil nurse. How was _that_?"

May's brows furrowed. "Was it really Ash's fault?"

"I don't care. I _want _to blame him." The other girl shrugged the idea off, worried that, once again, the topic would switch back to Ash, because it was _always _about Ash, and that she would be stuck thinking about him all through her date with Gary.

"But you don't think they'd really go that far just to keep from getting sick?" May pressed further, completely baffled by the idea. Though rumors had been going around the school that it was, in fact, all due to Ash as the newest student and somehow the most important, she couldn't imagine why they would go through the lengths to protect him from something as mundane as the flu or a cold. "I mean, that's a lot of cash for something like that."

"He's worth more," Misty said flatly.

May snorted. "He _can't _be."

"Totally is." She pulled out a pair of white flats, holding them up to her friend. "Nice. What do you think?"

"How is he worth more?"

Misty's eyes narrowed and her voice was sharp, "Flats, May. Think about flats. Not Ash."

"But how-?"

"I hate him. Let's talk about shoes."

May shook her head, refusing to give up. "How is he-?"

"He's going to be a master, May," she snapped, tossing her shoes back in her suitcase in exasperation. Her hands fell to her hips, and she explained further, "If the master graduates from here that means lots more students, lots more money, and when Ash is really rich he might thank them by donating a wing. Ash is potentially worth millions and millions of dollars, and plenty of free publicity. Now, shoes, May!"

"The shoes are fine. But, I mean, aren't you concerned about whatever's going on with him? He's got to be something if they're willing to go through all of this for him."

Misty shrugged. "It doesn't have anything to do with me."

"But if you're going to work with him-"

She cut her off. "I have a date."

"Yeah, but it's with Gary." May said, shrugging herself.

"So?" She glared.

"So nothing's going to happen. It's not like you guys are going to stay together."

"You don't know that," she sniffed. "Besides, what do you know about romance anyway?"

"Hey, I-" she started, then, for the first time in a long time deciding to keep a very big secret from her friend, blushed and looked away. "Nothing."

Which was weird enough for Misty, because May had never had that kind of response before. There would usually be a little squabble about who had more romance, which turned into one of who had less, and in the end turned into both of them consoling each other with compliments and promises that they weren't fat. Noting the blush on May's face, she was sure she wasn't going to find out what the blush or her "nothing" meant, so she grabbed her clothes and rushed off to the bathroom.

She came out a few minutes later, her flats white and shiny, her legs smooth up to the knee high yellow dress her wore, a white, almost jacket-like top over the dress. She'd taken down her hair, tucked in a yellow headband, and had a heavier dose of make-up than she usually wore. She fixed her hair and smoothed her dress self-consciously, then asked, "So, do I look okay or am I overdoing the whole date thing?"

May looked her up and down, scrutinizing her outfit, before conceding, "Gary will like it."

She grinned. "So I look good?"

"You look…" She frowned a bit, tilting her head sideways and looking for the right words. "You kind of look like you raided Dawn's wardrobe."

"Good," she giggled, walking out the door. "Dawn's pretty."

She didn't take her bike into town, but arrived early nevertheless. Fifteen minutes early, and spent the first ten minutes thinking of an excuse for being early so he didn't think she was too eager. The next ten minutes were spent ignoring Lieutenant Surge looking at her, clearly confused as to why she was standing outside his shop for near twenty minutes. She did this by staring intensely at the sky, because there were no people or cars in the area for her to watch, having the shop so far out of the way. She pondered about whether or not the ominous grey clouds were holding rain or hail or even snow, considering how quick the temperature had dropped.

It actually didn't help much to distract her from Surge, and kept her senses heightened enough that she caught sight of Gary Oak strolling up to her. He was six minutes late, and she continued her cloud staring until he awkwardly cleared his throat and she turned to him, nothing that he was in jeans and a t-shirt, and glancing down at his clothes like he was surprised at what he was wearing, and that made her smirk a little.

He noticed her smirk and straightened quickly, putting on a cocky grin of his own and saying in a nonchalant tone, "You look nice."

She giggled, shaking her head as she strolled past him towards the heart of town, the place she was certain any date-like activities would take place. "So where are we going?"

"Movies," he said, a bit eager now as he trotted up to her side. "And I'll even walk you to your door."

She allowed him to weave his fingers in hers, now joined hands swinging lightly. "Sounds perfect, gentleman Oak. Do you have a movie picked out?"

"Anything that's playing now, I guess," he said. "I know you don't go to a lot of movies, and everything out seems like it'll be interesting. Well, except for a kid's movie they made out of a play – Wally the Magikap."

"That sounds familiar."

"Ever seen it?"

She shook her head. "Don't think so."

"We did it back in elementary school. I was one of the gyarados."

The conversation wasn't thrilling by any means. It wasn't boring, though. She had sat through enough painful boring Kanto history lessons to know what boring was and that left her slightly stumped. Most of her first date with Gary, her first date ever, really, was spent trying to figure out what their talks were. She thought about it through talks of plays, about current school life, about debate team and other extra curricular activities. She thought about it through a romantic comedy which was far too boring for her taste, because the comedy was dry and the male lead wasn't attractive, not to her, anyway. He was blonde, and thanks to her eldest sister having that same color hair, she couldn't really stand the color. And in between occasional, giddy hand touches over their shared popcorn, Misty wondered if Gary was second date material.

It wasn't until after the movie, when Gary took her by the hand and asked, very cheerfully. "So, where's a good coffee place?" that Misty was finally able to take a real interest in what was going on. No longer was Gary rambling on about himself, or asking her random questions that ranged from her favorite color to what her opinion was on the changes occurring in Kanto's government, this seemed like something, that…well, it wasn't whatever it was before.

"The train station has an amazing café," she said eagerly, twisting to look him in the eye. "You wouldn't believe it."

"Diving Dough?" he asked, naming a popular chain.

That made her giggle, shaking her head lightly, and set off at a jog down the street, pausing only to encourage him to hurry up after he had come to a stop, watching her strangely. He finally followed, a half smile on his face, and they weaved through the streets, into the train station and far down into the depths of it. Trains that went straight to Lavender Town, rarely visited, were resting in their tunnels, and the warm smell of fresh coffee and pastries flitted through the air.

"Shouldn't that be a subway?" Gary asked, pointing at the old thing curiously.

"I don't know." She shrugged, and before Gary could debate safety points or energy savings, she dragged him up to the counter, not only ordering for herself, but him as well, before whipping out her wallet.

"Let me," he said quickly, grabbing at his own.

"You got the movie," she said calmly. "I've got this."

He stared, mouth slightly open, then shook his head rapidly and grabbed at her wrist. "But I-"

"I don't care if you're the guy." She smiled at his shocked face. "I don't mind."

"Yes, but-"

"I'm paying, Gary," Misty said firmly.

"I should pay on the first date."

She rolled her eyes at him, tugging her hand away and paying the very, very patient cashier. "You don't have to do everything by the book, Gary. Just…stop asking me questions off an online dating profile. Let's just…talk, you know? Have a real conversation with back and forth? Fun?"

"Alright, but I may have to turn on the suave," he said in a voice that made her wonder whether or not he was joking.

She rolled her eyes again, this time in a much happier nature. "That's I'd love to see."

Misty didn't know what suave was supposed to be, really. Whenever she heard the word, she thought of a man in a tux, maybe an accent, and nearly always with a half drank glass of wine in their hand, talking to well dressed women at a fancy party. If that was what suave was, Gary didn't have it. He was close, though. He had a sweet smile, and made strong eye contact when he talked about things that he seemed to think girls would enjoy knowing about him. He talked about his family, his hobbies, and before he had to switch to more boring topics, immediately turned the conversation to her. Then he listened, his eyes so intent on her face that she blushed every once in a while.

What she did know, however basic it was, was that eye contact meant something. She had been raised in a gym with big pokémon, and she was taught from a young age to never look the big ones in the eye if she didn't want a fight. Eye contact was intimate and challenging and important, and on no grounds was she ever going to turn her eyes away, and give him the satisfaction of winning, of being better. And, somehow, she felt that this was exactly what was going on. With all his flirting and flattery and abundant knowledge of what to do on a date, that he pushed at her and explained to her, practically rubbing her ignorance in her face. She wasn't going to let him win.

At some point, he seemed to let it go. The eye contact was softer, more friendly, and ever so gradually it turned into a conversation. Not friendly, exactly, but it seemed like the movies, with him leaning close and talking about important things that she knew she should care more about, and genuinely tried to, even though the bulk of it bored her and she doubted she would remember any of it in the morning.

And when they had finished and they were walking back to her dorm, holding hands, and he said, "Do you want to this again?" she realized that she was having fun, that she was genuinely enjoying herself. She smiled back at him and nodded and said yes, then rushed back to her room with her head in the clouds, leaving Gary without so much as a handshake at the door to her dorm.

When she did get back, she immediately turned on her boombox. She had made sure the Bollywood song was quiet enough that only the rooms directly next to her would hear it. Those were the girls that were all sure to be out on a Sunday night, getting one last party or date in before returning to their early morning classes that day. That said, she was blaring the music as loud as it could go on her portable speakers.

She was wearing a pair of summer pajamas, as she always slept hot, and dancing as sexually as she could. She wasn't quite sure that this was how a belly dance was done, or if she was any good at it, but she knew she was having a good time doing it. She watched her reflection grin back to her in the mirror and she admitted that she felt sexy, smart, mysterious. Her eyes gleam with a secret, he smile held a hidden knowledge, her body moved with experience.

It was because of Gary Oak. If nothing else, he knew how to make a girl feel special.

* * *

While Misty's days were typically packed, Ash had plenty of spare time, and he spent most of it at the stables.

The high school had land that stretched back into the woods, reminding him a lot of Oak's ranch, though Oak's stables weren't so spotless, and his pokémon weren't the remarkably powerful beasts that were housed here. Even the smallest, a baby ponyta, already had the smooth line of muscle, dents in the wall from its kicks, and bright eyes that shown with intelligence as he trotted up to the door and shoved his head through the gap, nickering at the dark haired boy. And, though most would have shied from touching a creature so well bred and undoubtedly expensive, Ash eagerly responded to it.

"Hey there, pretty guy," he murmured. He ran his hand along the white muzzle, and the colt leaned into it, lipping his hand expectantly. "I don't have any treats for you, unless you like ketchup, but you don't want to get Pikachu jealous. She'll zap you."

"Tell me," a voice said behind him, voice choked with half hidden giggles. "When you sing, do pigeys land on your window and sing along with you, or do you have to be in a princess dress for that?"

He turned slowly, not wanting to startle the foal, and noted that Dawn wasn't wearing anything nice. Strangely, she had on a pair of sweatpants and an old t-shirt as she leaned on the door with him, sighing. "I can't ever get him to come up to me. He jumps and runs away whenever I hold my hand out. He won't even sniff me. I take a shower before I come down. I used herbal soaps. I don't put on perfume. No matter what, I can't get close."

Ash glanced at her, and at the ponyta who had moved a bit back as Dawn approached, just out of her reach. She looked a little sad about it, and he wondered why she would be here. Not that he doubted she cared about her pokémon, but he had thought this stable was for battling pokémon, not contests. He decided that, maybe, like a lot of girls did, she just loved ponytas and rapidash, and wanted to meet them.

"Well, he's a battler. Holding out your hand like that, when you reach out towards his nose, he gets nervous. He thinks you'll hit him in the face. You're being _big_. When you meet a pokémon, you want to be _small_. You let them come to you, and then you can interact with him." Ash opened the stall taking her hand to guide her in, making the colt dart to the other end of the stall, giving one sharp, nervous kick to prove his strength. "Here, crouch down, be tiny, and let him come to you."

"He looks angry," she said, voice quiet and hand clutching his so tight he heard a couple of his knuckles crack.

"He's showing off. So you know that he's big and strong, so you won't attack him. Don't worry, he's not threatening. See how his ears are up?"

She did, looking at his ears twitch back and forth, one eye examining the two of them closely. She whispered nervously, "What if he doesn't come?"

"He'll come." Ash promised, deciding to let her keep clutching her hand if it made her feel better. "Just wait."

They crouched in the corner, Ash quietly reminding her not to make eye contact, because that was a threat and it was the last thing they needed, and soon enough the colt was cautiously sniffing her, before eagerly butting his head against her shoulder and looking for treats. At Ash's direction, Dawn let her hands come up to run along the fur, sliding her fingers through the fire that, for the first time in several years of trying, didn't burn.

"I never thought I could do that," she said, a smile spreading across her face.

Ash looked back and forth between foal and girl, then asked, "Is he yours?"

"My dad's."

He glanced at her, taking all the time he wanted because she was focused on the colt and he was behind her, so she wouldn't think he was weird for looking. Which he was. He did stare far longer than was normal, but only because he had suddenly realized that Dawn was rich. Well, not Dawn, but her family at least, and nearly unimaginably so to afford to breed a pokémon of this standard. Aside from Gary Oak, he'd never met anyone like that. She didn't have that same pretentiousness that Gary did either.

"What does your dad do?

"Owns the largest electricity power plant in Sinnoh. Except for Sunnyshore, you can assume that if it's turned on, the money is going straight to my dad." She pet the ponyta under its chin, and the astoundingly noisy thing whickered happily, leaning into her touch like a puppy, before twisting his head to poke at her pocket for the few mints she kept there.

"See! He likes you." Ash gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"He likes you," she argued. "He only likes me because you showed me what I'm supposed to do."

"And now he likes you," he argued back, standing up and startling the little horse, who used his quick reflexes to trot back. "You just needed some help. Hey, maybe if you come back here enough, when he's big and trained you can actually ride him."

"Ride him?" she said, giggling a little at the concept.

"Sure! You know how, right?" he asked eagerly. "Professor Oak let me work on his ranch all the time, and one of the things I did for him was exercise some of the pokémon. I swear, I can teach you to ride anything."

"You can't ride this one," she chuckled.

Ash nodded, seeming to understand, "Not yet, but-"

"Ash, you can't ride this one," she said, far more seriously now.

"I've ridden way wilder-"

"Ash!" she shouted, ignoring the colt snorting with fear and darting to the other end of the stall once again, ears flat at the unpleasant shouting. "This pokémon is never going to be ridden."

He frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It's a show pony, Ash. When he grows up, they'll paint him and decorate him and give him a special harness and teach him how to walk prettily, and that's it. He's not going to race or be ridden or anything." She pulled her knees up to her chest and scowled, eyes turning hard. "If he's lucky, they'll let him breed with a girl rapidsah instead of a log so they can artificially inseminate loads more. But that's the closest he'll get to doing anything like a normal ponyta."

"And what's the point of that" he fumed. "Why would you go through all the trouble of getting the best and treating it well and raising it right, and then just…just making it stand in the corner to look pretty. What's the point of that? The poor little guy is just going to…to just sit in a pasture!"

"Status." Dawn shrugged. "It's a status symbol."

"That's a waste," he said fervently. "It's a waste."

"And what are you going to do about it?" she asked. "Write my dad a complaint letter? He's not going to bother reading it, much less pay it any attention."

"Fine." He shrugged. "I'll let the colt choose."

"You think that he knows how to make a choice?" Dawn blinked up at him, eyebrows raised, knowing that the boy was stupid and crazy, but never thinking he was _that _stupid or crazy.

But Ash grinned, nodding as if it all made perfect sense. "Of course he does. And he's going to make the right one."

* * *

*cough* Metaphor. *cough*

Anywho, sorry this took so long! In between my computer breaking down and moving to my new college, everything has been crazy. Thank you so much for your patience, and the next chapter will definitely be up sooner!


	8. The Bet and the Rumors

This entire story can be sung to the tune of the Gilligan's Island theme song.

Provided you stretch and short the appropriate syllables and have no real sense of musical timing.

* * *

**The Bet and the Rumors**

The next tutoring session was going to be nice. At least, Misty expected it was. She had enjoyed her date with Gary. While, yes, it had started out dull at the beginning, it had gotten better. And, what's more, Gary was cute and funny and charming, and _popular_, for goodness' sake. He should have gone after someone gorgeous, or someone easy, or somebody who fit the cheerleader stereotype, but he had chosen her. He hadn't forced a kiss on her, or stared at her boobs all night. They had talked and shared and laughed together, and Ash certainly could ruin that.

Though, damn it all, did he try. He gave her a heart attack when she came into his room, the door wide open, and, after calling out his name and looking around, noticing that he was nowhere to be seen. Pikachu was sleeping on her mat, and, even with her limited knowledge of Ash, she thought that the two of them being more than three feet apart was rare, and that Ash being out of eyesight of his faithful mouse was just bizarre. She was proven right when Ash gave her the aforementioned heart attack, as she sat down on the bed and his hand rushed out to grab her ankle and make her shriek.

"So," he asked, rolling onto his back and smiling up at her. Pikachu didn't even twitch from her spot, seeming used to the boy's antics. "Is Gary as good in the sack as he's supposed to be? I've seen him in the locker room, and you know what? I think he's small in the pants. I think that's why he sleeps with so many girls."

"Are we going over battle tactics today?" she asked calmly.

"I'm good at battle tactics. Did May even figure out what try all your gears meant? Because, you know, I said it, and I'm not entirely sure what it meant."

"We'll do English, then," she said calmly, and began digging through his backpack for his English book.

She was pleased to find that his backpack was already neater. Though he still had packed a few papers loosely into the bag, definitely getting crumpled, most of them were put in some sort of binder. His reading assignment was marked by a bright post-it sticking out of his book, making it easy to flip to, though he had neglected to how far he had to go. She immediately logged onto his computer for that, and told him to read while she did.

"You had sex with him," Ash accused after her fourth giggle that lesson, irritated not only but the giggles that interrupted his studying but by the fact that she really hadn't been paying attention to him, and therefore not doing her job. Though, mostly, he just wanted to start an argument so he could put his book aside. "You're afterglowing."

"No, we didn't do it. We didn't do _any_thing. I mean, we didn't even kiss. Gary just knows all the right ways to treat a girl." She stared off into space for a moment, thinking about it, then shook her head and glared at him. "You, on the other hand, are a completely oblivious idiot who couldn't say anything thoughtful if the words hit you in the face."

He shrugged and slid down in his seat a bit, shrugging his shoulders up and down. "So? Who cares if I'm bad with girls? I've got pokémon. I'm a prodigy. Who needs girls or English? I'm never going to need this guy."

"He's called Homer, and I don't blame you for struggling. You have the worst teacher in the school. Nice, but a sucky teacher. Can't even go in chronological order." She sighed, and came to sit next to him in the second chair by his desk. It wasn't the first time she had come over, as evidenced by the chair completely out of place, stolen from the cafeteria, but it still felt weird to be sitting that close to him. "You really don't want a girlfriend? Most guys your age would kill for one."

"Would you kill for a boyfriend?" he asked.

She frowned. "Well, I think I have one."

"Would you have killed for a boyfriend?"

"I wanted one. I wouldn't _kill _for one, or anything. It's nice to feel appreciated."

"I don't like anyone, not like that." He laughed. "When I find someone I'm sure it'll all work out."

"Love is hard. It doesn't just fall into your lap. It's usually unrequited too," she argued.

He laughed even louder at that. "I'm special. Things always work out for me, don't worry."

"Oh yeah, hotshot? If everything works out so well then why do you have to have a tutor, huh?"

"Except school." He glared down at his textbook. "I wish Homer was alive so I could push him down a flight of stairs."

"Nice," she said dryly. "It's not that hard. You just have to-"

"Hey, since _The Lion King _was based off Hamlet, can we watch that?" he asked eagerly, almost bouncing in his seat. "And I bet, if you looked, you could probably find a bunch of other Disney movies based off classical stuff. I know I still have to read the classical stuff, but the movies could be like…like review, or something."

She shrugged. "I'd have to see it first, see how well they stuck to the story."

His eyes widened. "You've never seen _The Lion King_?"

"I haven't seen a lot of kids' movies."

"So let me get this straight," he said, holding up his hands to stop her, as if she had anything else to say on the subject. "You're a teenager, and you've never seen a single kids' movie? What do you talk about when you talk about being a little kid?"

"I saw a few kids movies," she corrected. "I saw the Neverending Story. I saw that before I read the book, and I loved that one. I just never saw Disney movies. My sisters watched them all the time, and I figured if my sisters liked them, I'd hate them. That's how it always works. So I never bothered with them."

Ash stared at her pityingly. "You had no childhood."

"I did too."

"Misty, you're going to watch Disney movies." He put his arm around her shoulders, and she looked rather skeptically his way. "We're going to show you terrible kids' movies and shows and have pillow fights and do the kind of stupid stuff that you missed out on. You deserve it, and we're going to give it to you."

"Who is we?"

"The royal we."

"Can I opt out of this seminar?"

"No." He gave her a one armed hug and sighed. "Misty, I'm going to have so much fun showing you all this."

"Where'd that we go?"

"One day, son, this will all be yours," he said dramatically, sweeping his arm across the room, which wasn't filled with any of the things she wanted, and, other than the pillows, none of the things he was claiming to offer her anyway. Just a bunch of school books and papers and boring things like that.

She smirked. "You mean the curtains?"

He laughed. "Monty Python. Nice."

"You know you still have homework, don't you?"

He paid her no mind. "Come on, let's go get _The Lion King _out of the library."

"Yeah, we're doing the homework."

The next few weeks that passed were exceptionally dull for Ash. Misty refused to take him up on his offer, and had an annoying habit of promising that they would do it tomorrow, or next week, and then coming up with mountains of more studying that he didn't really think he needed. But if she wasn't going to enjoy it, there wasn't any point in trying to force her into it, so he slouched over his desk and worked and wrote and rewrote and rewrote and rewrote an essay about Homer.

Misty, however, was having a grand old time. Although her first date with Gary hadn't been exceptionally exciting, it was _Gary Oak_, a very charming, well off guy that could have anyone, and picked her. Which, in all honestly, wasn't enough to keep a relationship going, so it was good that they began to get along more. While not exciting, it was nice with Gary, and peaceful, and he did say a lot of nice things that made her feel fairly tingly. Though, even in those next few weeks, Gary never dared go farther than holding hands, but she was sure if he had tried, she wouldn't have stopped him.

And then came that terrible day. It was because he had startled her so badly that she had gone completely rigid, and the anger after was why her face had gotten so red. It made sense, especially with Ash's laugh, a loud laugh, slamming into her ear like a freight train as he jumped up and down and tried to bring her with him. "I got an A! I got an A on an essay and that's never, ever happened before! Thank you! I got an A!"

"You're welcome," she grunted, twisting out of his hug and rubbing at her cheeks, as if that would cool them down any. "Gees, don't sneak up on me like that. Just because you aced a test or something doesn't mean I suddenly like you." She raised an eyebrow to herself, muttering, "If you manage to pay me back for my bike things might change a little though."

"I've never gotten an A on an essay before, _ever_." He laughed again, either ignoring the bike comment or missing her low tone. "Thank you!"

"You're welcome, again. Glad I'm not a crappy tutor," she deadpanned.

"At first I thought you were just being mean to me, but you were actually teaching me something. All those nights I had to stay up late counted for something! I actually learned and wrote an essay and got an A for it!"

"Don't puff out your chest yet, you're still in _remedial_ English."

"An A's an A. Just because you're an advanced placement honor roll freak of nature studying person doesn't mean you can look down on me for being normal." He laughed again. "If you weren't crazy and I wasn't scared to death of you, I could kiss you right now."

She gave a bit of a smile puffing _her_ chest out with pride. "You can't. I'm taken."

However, things only went downhill from there. She was surprised to find herself the object of rumors, knowing this only because she had been the target before, and knew the signs. Kids would whisper all sorts of things under their breath and try to glance her way discretely, or they would hush when she entered the room, or have some sort of awkward moment when they tried to transition into something that wasn't bad mouthing her. She had schoolwork, though, and didn't have time to worry about it right then, so she continued on her way, studying and acing tests and wondering what, exactly, she was going to do to keep Ash from forcing kids' movies on her tonight.

Then Melody came into her sight, spinning and walking backwards as she met her in the hall. She was wearing sunglasses, though why she was wearing them inside Misty couldn't hazard a guess, that she had slid down her nose so she could look over them with an especially happy smile. Misty was now worried about those rumors, because anything that made Melody glad meant it was a good enough secret to bet money on.

"So, I heard you were making out with Ash in the hall today," Melody hummed merrily. "I thought you've been dating Gary the past couple of weeks, and I know my sources on _that _can't be wrong. Do you have two lovers now?"

Misty glared and turned to her locker, ripping it open to shuffle her books in and out to prepare for her new classes, and she hissed, "Melody, I don't even _know_ you, and what I _do _know about you, I don't even _like_." She slammed the locker door far harder than necessary and asked, "Why the hell is everyone so interested in my love life? A month ago nobody even looked at me in the hall unless they wanted me to beat someone up for them."

"Well, as fun as being a thug must have been, a new life is starting for you." She spun around and flung her arm around the redhead's shoulders. "See, you've never been on an official date and suddenly you've got two guys chasing after you at once? Can you really blame me for being jealous? And curious. Mostly curious, though I might be jealous about Ash. He's adorable, and I do like it when they're cute."

Misty shrugged the girl's arm off, using every bit of will she had to not snap the bone into teeny tiny bits for touching her, and not entirely enjoying her insinuation that she was interested in Ash, though that was mostly because Melody was as known for heartbreaking as Gary, if not more so, as not even the infamous Oak would dare go after her, and immediately turned her down when she prompted him for a date.

"Go away."

"I'm starting a betting pool on your love life," Melody said, confirming Misty's thoughts. "So don't make plans with anyone on when to break up with Gary. I know the big pool's alluring, but you need to stick with whatever your heart cries out for. I'm hoping it's Ash. He's so sweet, but with his romantic skills you're the best he's ever going to manage." She sighed as if it was some great tragedy to end up with Misty, pushing her sunglasses back into a normal position on her face.

Then, Misty was struck with a horrifying thought that Melody might be too invested in it. That she would be in her betting pool, that she would try and break her and Gary up, and force her onto Ash somehow. And, though Melody couldn't force her too, the brunette was startlingly good at getting her way. The redhead arched an eyebrow her way, and, very seriously, with as much intimidation as she could muster, growled, "You're not a matchmaker, right?"

"I won't destroy your relationship with Gary, but if you happen to break up…" She trailed off and winked. "Let's just say I'll _really _be hoping it's Ash.

And then she left, skipping down the hall merrily. Misty headed for her class, only feeling a little less worried now that Melody had clarified she wasn't going to break the two of them up. Though, knowing how rarely Melody lost bets, the fact that she was betting against the redhead's current relationship was making her a bit anxious. She tried to remind herself that, yes, Melody was often right, but she had lost bets before and she could certainly lose this one.

There was a cry of, "Into the closet!" and hands gripping her upper arm, very familiar hands, and the next moment she was dragged into the nearest janitor's closet, one light bulb on a string waving back and forth, illuminating May's face as she gasped, "What's this about you and Ash making out in the hall? I thought you were with Gary! You're not a two timer!"

She groaned, slamming her head back against the door, not believing that it was _still _this, and wondering if the day was ever going to end. But May was a friend, so she would listen and she would understand, so she calmly explained, calming the younger girl, "Mewdamned _rumors_. No, I'm _not_. Ash gave me a hug because he got his first ever A on an essay. There wasn't any making out. I didn't even _hug _him back."

May's demeanor changed considerably, her whole face lighting up now that Ash had become adorable once more (no longer being the other man in a cheating relationship) and Misty was no longer a cheating monster. She giggled, and clapped her hands a little. "Aw, he got his first A? And he thanked you for it? That's sweet! I knew you couldn't have cheated on Gary, Misty. Even if he is a manwhore or a jerk or whatever he turns out to be, you'd still be fair to him! But Ash…oh, he's so cute! How could you hate him when he's that adorable?"

"Seriously, why are we friends?" she growled, leaning forward to couch May on the hazards of Ash Ketchum once more. "He's evil, _dammit_, evil!"

"Sure he is," May teased. "Just make sure you break up with Gary before you start making out with him."

And though the day's troubles ended at that for Misty's, Ash had a bit of a problem of his own. The rumors were spreading quickly, and Ash, caring about what other people thought far more than Misty, had asked what was going on. Then, despite his explaining, he was shocked to find that the rumors continued, and a bit nervous that Gary was going to punch him in the face, if only because Gary did not deal with losing well.

As far as Ash knew, when your girlfriend kissed someone else, that was losing in the game of love.

He found Gary by the vending machines, and Gary didn't look mad, just a little curious, and Ash relaxed. He had forgot that Gary was going into research, and was very logical. It wasn't logical that Misty would kiss Ash, as they were barely friends. Sure, it was _possible_, but it wasn't probable. So, unless Gary had proof or a confession, he wasn't going to hit him. Not yet, at least, so Ash gave him a smile and hoped that Gary wouldn't even bring it up.

He did, of course. The brunette boy did want to know. "You didn't really kiss Misty, did you?"

Ash felt the coins in his pocket, and ignored Gary's question, knowing that, regardless of the fact that it didn't happen, the conversation was going to be extremely awkward. So he walked up to the vending machine, mused over what soda he wanted, then casually asked, "Did you empty out the vending machines?"

"All but the one on the far right," Gary replied, voice frighteningly even. "Did you kiss her?"

"Not that guy," Ash sighed weakly. He continued onwards, knowing there was no way for them to avoid that topic, and explained, "I just gave her a hug. Don't you people hug? It was a thank you! If you don't trust me, at least trust Misty."

He shrugged. "She's never been in a relationship before. I don't know how she acts."

"Just look at her." Ash frowned, turning from the machine. "I've known her shorter than you-"

"She's been tutoring you longer," he countered.

"You've been at the same school as her longer." Ash glared. "I know she's not the cheating type and that's from a couple months. 'Sides, she hates me anyways."

Gary thought about this for a moment, musing over holes in Ash's story, and could think of only one possible loophole if Ash wasn't lying, claiming, "It could be a show, so nobody will think you have a thing going."

He put his coins in, settling for a lemonade. "If it is, she's putting it on for me too."

Meanwhile, May had spent the majority of her day, once done worrying about Misty's two timing, thinking that he should be a one timer…well, get a boyfriend, she meant. She was going to ask Drew out this time for sure. She wandered through the emptying halls, then waited until he showed up at his locker to walk over, so it didn't look like she was waiting for him. Granted, she was, but if he thought she was that was just going to look desperate.

"So, the dance is getting closer," May said, leaning against Drew's locker and batting her lashes at him as best she could. She held her books over her chest, when, in a sense, that was probably counterproductive to her intensions, and tried to look cute. She didn't look much cuter than normal, but she thought she did, and that was half the battle.

He nodded, not looking her way, absently collecting his books, stuffing them into his arms for now, and most likely heading back to his dorm to study for the night. May was about to wonder why they had lockers, but her train of thought was interrupted when he said, "Yeah, so's the first school contest," and kneeled down to begin piling his books into his backpack, still not bothering to look at the desperate girl.

But he had said contest, and that was the magic word. She was off the locker in a flash, shouting at him rather excitedly: "Don't think you're going to win, Drew! There's no way I'm letting you win! I'm going to beat you just like I did last year!" Any thoughts of asking him to the dance were all gone in the heat of her competition. Sure, the boy was cute and dreamy and his personality was sometimes obnoxious and he could be so _nice _at times, but he was first and foremost her rival. She would rather win a contest against him than have a date.

"You don't have to _let_ me, May, I'll do it on my own." He smirked at her, and now his eyes finally met hers, a good glint of competition in them.

His eyes made her a little dizzy. He was very, very handsome, and his eyes were too green to bear. Her reply was a little hesitant, as her mind stumbled for something witty to retort in between thinking about how amazing it would be if she could just lean forward a bit and kiss him and just…"Oh yeah? Well…well don't count on it!"

That was the best she had. He arched an eyebrow at her, and she glared steadily, before finally twisting on her heel and storming down the hall. Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling, her head staying steady so it looked like she was just as determined as ever, and she mouthed the words, because saying them out loud would let him hear them, resigning herself to the simple truth of, "I hate me."

She walked back to her dorm to sleep the night and dream of actually asking him out and getting a yes, while Misty sat in Ash's dorm room, watching him pour over his books, and frowning to herself as she thought about the rumors of the day. No, Ash hadn't kissed her, and he'd never tried, but she'd never even seen him look. And that was a bit troubling. She didn't _want _him to try and kiss her or anything, but it would be nice if he checked her out, if he thought she was pretty.

There was, however, an out, a way she could make herself feel far better, and she accused, "Are you gay?"

Ash took this remarkably well. Where some men would splutter and gasp and do everything in their power to assure they weren't gay, Ash stopped to think about this for a moment, and once reaching a satisfactory conclusion, explained, "I'm pretty sure I like girls, but you never really know. Everyone always wonders in the back of their mind, don't they? Doesn't matter, I think girls are pretty and I wouldn't hate making out with one so I would say I'm probably straight. Why?"

"So you're sure you're straight?" She crossed her arms, feeling her heart sink a little in her chest.

Weirdly, his opinion mattered, and not just because he was a boy. She justified it with how he was an extremely not sexual boy, and that if he noticed her, it meant she really was something. But that didn't explain why, if he didn't, she felt as bad as if she'd just found out she was hideous, something she had honestly never been _that _worried about before. She came to the conclusion that, yes, she wanted Ash to think she was pretty, and check her out and just…and _look _at her.

"As sure as I can be." Ash shrugged, trying to focus on the book, and not focus on his sexuality.

She huffed a big breath, then released it slowly, then spoke to him in her very quick, very nervous, very distracting voice: "Because sometimes I show up dressed up for dates with Gary and you've never said anything, never looked at me or anything. So if you're not gay it has to mean I'm ugly."

"Or I could just _not_ be interested," he muttered, face reddening and, unnoticed to Misty, hands tightening on the book.

"You're a guy! If it has boobs you've got to notice it unless it's hideous like I am!"

"No, that's not really it. Some guys just aren't-"

And suddenly she wasn't just mad, she was _hurt_. She wanted to rant and rave and scream and shout and punch him and then she wanted to sit down and eat a big bowl of ice cream and cry, which was weird, because this didn't happen. She was the runt. She was not "sensational". She was used to people taunting and teasing at her looks when she had the backdrop of her sisters. And suddenly, the boy wasn't telling her that she was ugly, or came up with some especially good insult, and she was crushed. She was devastated. And, for the love of all that was good in the world, she didn't have the slightest idea as to why.

In a resigned voice, she muttered. "Just tell me I'm ugly."

He slammed his book shut, and with his hormones spinning and causing a blush to leap up into his face. He took her by the shoulders and looked her dead in the eye, and in a low, even voice, he said, "Okay, when I notice things like you're not wearing a sports bra on date nights and wear a normal girl bra or you hike up your skirt when it's warmer, I'm not going to stare and I'm not going to point it out because my mother taught me better. Do you want me to wolf whistle?"

She found herself giggling, not just happily, but with a strange, fluttery feeling that made her blush and feel almost embarrassed at being so close to him. "Nope! Just knowing you've looked is enough for me." And then she leaned forward to ask, "Your first report card is coming up. Are you excited?"

"Why? Don't care about school." Then, ironically, turned back to his schoolbook.

"Sure you do. You got all excited when you got your first A."

"But this is different. Report cards aren't exciting. You can see them online, anyway, so it's not like it's anything new. I know how I'm doing."

"You've never gotten a great report card," she argued. "It's a lot more fun then, trust me."

* * *

At some point that night, she left Ash's room. She walked down the hall and out into the snow, then get on her bike and began pedaling back, not quick, but at a leisurely pace. She relaxed from the day's events, and the ones in the night too, and she banished any thoughts of Ash from her mind. There was only the slow turning of the wheels, the light crunch of snow on the fairly recently shoveled walk, and the wind whipping by her ears and chilling her in the most wonderful way.

When she got back to her dorm, Gary was standing outside it. She looked at him curiously, then parked her bike and walked over to him, head slightly cocked, and heart pounding just a little bit faster at the thought that he had heard the rumors, and he had believed them, and that he was going to break up with her and kick the crap out of Ash, but she calmed her nerved and walked up to him, trying her best to smile.

"It wasn't true." She paused, then corrected, "It isn't true. We didn't kiss. It was a hug."

"I know," he said, smiling back.

"You can check out any of the security cameras if you want, I swear. It was only a hug."

He laughed a bit. "Misty, I know. I know you wouldn't do something like that. The only way it could possibly happen is if Ash finally went crazy from all those hormones he never got around to using and just mauled you in the hall. I know you're not a cheater, Misty. I know you're a nice girl. That's why I'm trying so hard to be a nice guy for you."

"You don't need to change for me. I wouldn't want you to." She frowned. "I mean, don't, like, pin me down or anything, but…you can be you. I know that you've been with girls. I know that you're, you know…you've got a lot of practice. I just want you to wait for me, is all. But…I like you. I'm…I'm trying to keep up, and I like you."

He took a cautious step forward. "So…so you're okay if we do something more than holding hands, right?"

"I'm not going back to your room."

He laughed more, shaking his head. "Not that. I just meant…Misty, is it alright if I kiss you?"

"Have you ever asked a girl that before?"

"No."

She barely had time to tell him yes before he had taken a big step towards her and pressed their lips together. It was the _perfect _kiss. His lips were soft and cupped her own perfectly, not putting too much or too little pressure as he held her close. And it was snowing, just small little flakes lighter than feathers fluttering elegantly around her head. His hands were warm and soft and she melted into him like the snowflakes on her cheeks. It was perfect, he was perfect, and she was warm.


	9. Wrestling

Oh my goodness? Did I update so quickly? How is that possible? Is it because I have an entire outline of this entire story complete with dialogue and quite a bit of description that I only need to flesh out to make most of these chapters and most especially this chapter? Or am I just that awesome?

(It's the one that says I'm awesome.)

* * *

**Wrestling**

Misty floated through the entire day in a haze. It wasn't so much that Gary's kiss had made her crazy, but the fact that he had done it in such a romantic way, with the snow falling around and him saying that he never thought she would cheat on him, it made her giddy. He was wonderful and handsome and popular and he really liked _her _and she couldn't help but lean against her locker and smile and sigh as she thought back to the previous night.

She was only half awakened by May nudging her in the side, giggling near hysterically at the sight of her friend. The girl, who was usually bright and focused on her surroundings, looked as if she'd just stumbled her way out of a hospital and the drugs were just starting to wear off. Misty rolled her head to May, arching an eyebrow calmly and smiling in that same, near drugged stupor that May had hoped to snap her out of.

"Misty, I've never seen you like this!" May said around her laughter. "You're all dreamy! You haven't raised your hand once in class and you didn't even try in gym! You just stare off blankly and sigh every once in a while. Everyone's talking!"

Misty idly wondered about how May could possibly know that, when they didn't share classes, and then she giggled slightly and dropped her head back on the locker. It was probably the rumors that had started spreading so quickly. It probably had a lot to do with the girl passing by, Melody, walking by with a skip in her step and a wad of cash in her pocket and chiming, "And changing bets!" In her giddy state, she didn't even care that Melody was making a huge profit off her personal life.

"I don't care," Misty retorted gleefully. "It was like a scene from a movie. It was the single most romantic thing that's ever happened to me and I'm not ever letting this feeling go." She sighed, clutched her books to her chest, and gave a happy twirl in the middle of the hallway. "Oh, I can't _wait _to ride my bike today. It's going to be _incredible_."

May wrinkled her nose a little that, feeling a little shudder pass through her at the extremely out of character Misty. She grabbed the girl's shoulder and pushed her back into the locker, saying very seriously, "It's getting a little creepy, actually. It's Disney fairytale turned real, fell in love in five seconds creepy." Misty giggled at the brunette, which only served to make May more uncomfortable. "Could you snap out of it for my sake?"

"Nope," she taunted, tweaking the younger girl's nose and dodging out of her arms.

"Come on," May begged. "It can't be _that_ good of a kiss."

She stood on her tiptoes and giggled again before falling back down, her smile stretching from ear to ear. "Good enough for me! It's my first real kiss, not spin the bottle or a dare or a test or anything. An honest to goodness kiss. That's magical."

"You're so bipolar."

"It's _magic_," she emphasized.

She was grabbed by her arm and dragged down the hall by May, who growled, "Okay, you have stuff to do. Studying, riding your bike, tutoring, and I'd really like if you could do me the favor of actually hanging out with me at some point like friends are supposed to. And if you spend all your time being dreamy, then you won't have any time for anything else. Do you understand how that works? Do you understand why I need you to wake up?"

"You have Dawn," Misty pointed out. "If I just keep being happy, you could hang out with Dawn and I can just kiss Gary some more."

"This is happiness. I don't know what…what _this _is," she gestured up and down at Misty. "But it's not being happy. It's creepy. And even if I did hang out with Dawn, which, don't get me wrong, I love doing, it's not the same as hanging out with my best friend who I really like and really appreciate and really want to spend time with when she's not acting like someone managed to slip some drugs into your breakfast."

Misty pouted. "Do you have to be such a buzz kill?"

"Considering the overwhelming creepiness of your buzz? Yes. Yes I do." They stepped outside into the chilly air, and once May tugged her aside so other people could get out without running them over, she grabbed the taller girl by the shoulders and said, "Alright, school is over. What do you need to do?"

She grinned. "Find Gary."

"Misty!"

She laughed. "I know! Don't worry. I'll ride my bike, I'll tutor Ash, and then I'll come over to your place later tonight so we can talk and study and do all the stupid girl stuff, and you can tell me how you came really close to asking Drew out and failed yet again, just like you do every year."

May frowned a little at that, but asked hopefully, "You promise?"

Misty nodded, walking off down the road to fetch her bike. "I promise!"

She didn't keep her promise, though not for the reasons May might have thought.

It was after her bike ride, after curious gazes from Surge and one comment of, "You okay, Weedle?", and her nearly crashing into a tree, when she headed up to Ash's dorm. He wasn't studying, which normally would have gotten him a scolding, but, as it was, she simply sighed and sat on his bed and stared off into space while Ash finished playing with Pikachu. The boy stood up awkwardly, looking at Misty suspiciously, then sat down at his desk.

She pushed over a math book, and he took it, still wondering what, exactly, was going on, and he started studying the book patiently. He read the formulas and copied them down, using the strategies she told him. But, once again, unlike normal, she wasn't leaning over his shoulder and correcting any little mistakes he made. She wasn't telling him better ways to write it, or telling him to rewrite it because his handwriting was too sloppy. She just sat on his bed and sighed.

"Uh, am I doing alright?" he asked nervously.

She blinked up at him sleepily. She didn't stand up or look at his paper. She seemed to fake a vaguely interested stare, arching her neck to see his study tools, then gave a little shrug and began to stare off into space again, leaving him only with, "Yeah. I think you're doing fine. Just keep doing what you're doing and you'll do fine."

"You know I have a test tomorrow, right?" he asked nervously. "I mean, you think that I'm going to do well on the test? Or, you know, just…just pass it or anything? Do you think that's going to happen?"

"Sure, sure," she said, nodding absently. "You'll do great, really. You're doing great."

He frowned, and turned back to his book. His right hand turned the pages, and his left hand clenched and unclenched in a fist, and, with a sniff in the air and a glance at the boy, she trotted to the other side of the room and pushed herself into a little cranny, ears flat against her head, as she waited for the inevitable explosion. It came, hard and fast, with Ash jumping to his feet and the chair flying backwards and Misty looking like herself again for the first time in hours.

"I have a huge test tomorrow!" he shouted, both fists clenching now. They came up a little, low at his sides and no good for punching, but still a threat, and she watched them with mild surprise, noticing that this was the very first time she had ever seen him mad. He stormed up to her and glared, caring nothing about her personal space and getting so close she could feel the heat from his angry blush. "Focus! Stop being all girly and weird!"

His anger was hot and controlled and intimidating, but he was Ash. For some reason, she wasn't afraid, didn't feel the need to confront him. She smiled up at him, teasing, taunting, feeling a new wave of giddiness rise up in her at the thought of getting him even more riled up, and said, "Jealousy doesn't fit you, Ash. Get yourself a girlfriend."

Ash gave a low growl and picked up his pillow, stunning Misty when he smacked her with it. The girl gave a startled shriek, all dreaminess gone, and was about to yell at him when he hit her again. Her arms came up, and the pillow came down again and again, then, startlingly, she felt herself starting to smile, and to laugh, though she was trying her hardest to be serious as she cried, "What the hell is wrong with you? Cut that out!"

"No way!" he shouted, and she heard the laugh in his voice to, which only made her happier.

She gave a war cry, his grunts and shouts nearly covered by hers, and she darted into the hallway, hoping that she would be faster than him and find some sort of ammunition of her own. She was out of luck. Even beating her with the pillow, he could keep up with her easily. Realizing there was nothing she could do to get away, she spun and ducked and rammed her shoulder into his stomach, not hard enough to really hurt, but hard enough to get him down.

To her surprise, he returned the gesture, trying to work his arm around her to flip her over, and, after that, there was a tangle of arms and legs as one tried to top the other, which soon changed again when Misty made a mad grab for the pillow, and found Ash dragging her back, and was unable to fend him off because of how breathless she was with laughter. She went after it two more times, and on the third she managed to grab it, spinning around to whack him firmly on the head.

He gave an angry shout of, "No headshots! That's as bad as camping!" then did his best to race away when she started laughing again, then barreled down the hallway after him, barely noticing when some of the other boys stuck their heads out the door, or when Brock came out and rolled his eyes before heading back in, or even when Drew and Paul walked down the stairs, Kenny desperately trying to see behind them, and using Drew's phone to dial Melody and up their wagers a little.

Half an hour later, they were collapsed on his floor, panting and laughing, and she was gasping, "Okay, we need to do math. Okay, you really need to pass, okay? Okay, come on, okay, that's enough, we really need to get this math stuff done" while Ash seemed plenty happy just to continue laughing, even though his stomach hurt, until he felt he was done, and then attempting to snatch the math book from the table so they could study on the floor.

"I hope my battle is that fun next week," he said, turning to the right page in his math book.

She blinked. "You have a battle? The tournament isn't until after winter break!"

"It's against Gary," he explained calmly. He stopped turning and grinned. "Hey, you want to come see? Me and Gary have been fighting since we were in diapers. It's always a really close fight."

She shook her head. "Nah. I don't want to get any closer to you than I have to, Ketchum."

And when his laughter started again, she couldn't help but join in.

* * *

One week later was when the report cards came out, and Misty spent the day avoiding Ash as best she could. If he had done as well as she thought he did, and, considering she was his tutor, she figured she ought to know, she wouldn't be too surprised if she found herself the victim of another hug. Twice she had seen him coming down the hallway and slid into a bathroom to avoid him. At the moment, there was no bathroom to duck into, and she was in a crowded hallway with the friend she was supposed to be spending time with long earlier.

"May, you need to get up the courage to do this!" Misty said, shaking her roughly. "I believe in you."

She was hyperventilating just badly enough that a boy passing by shoved his empty brown lunch bag into her hand, then he continued on without offering an explanation or waiting for a thanks. May looked at it for a moment, then decided it was probably best not to breathe into it in case it had held something weird before. She balled it up and Misty took it from her, darting across the hall to throw it in a trash can, then rushing back to try and calm her down.

May shook her head, babbling, "No. I can't. This is _grade grubbing_ and all the kids are going to laugh at me. Maybe you don't care about your reputation but I have hopes and dreams! Contest winners and girls who have boyfriends aren't grade grubbers! I can't ruin my life for an A."

"An A against an A-," Misty corrected, ignoring the fact that she was a grade grubber and, at the moment, did indeed have a boyfriend. "This is very important, May. This is half a grade difference. You need this. Once won't hurt. It's not like it's over something minor either, the teacher made a mistake."

"My reputation will be shot," she moaned.

"But you'll have an A!"

"I have an A!"

"You have an A-, there's a difference, dammit," the redhead said firmly, eyes darting to the left and right. "Get your A."

"You're a psycho."

"Yeah, a psycho with an A in every class," she muttered, twisting her head around even further to get a better view of the hall.

"Why are you looking around like the police are after you?"

"Report cards came out today," she said, though May most certainly knew that considering she was about to fight to have her grade changed. "Ash might hug me."

May snorted. "So? You're fine with being touchy."

"I have a boyfriend." Misty blushed a little. "It's inappropriate."

She snorted again. "But pillowfights are a-okay?"

"Shut up," she muttered. "It was…it wasn't like it was friendly. It was like…I was attacking him, okay? I was attacking him and I didn't want to leave marks and neither did he. That's all it was. It was a fight. He was angry because I wasn't helping him study right. And, you know, that's fair. I should have been helping him study. Still, he shouldn't have attacked me. That's why I protected myself. That's all it was."

"I should start tallying how many days it takes for you to start making out with Ash in the closet." She grinned wickedly and started to taunt, "_Ooh, Ash, you're so dreamy. When we wrestle and hit each other in pillows it's just like holding hands to me because I'm so violent._"

The little blush spread further over her face and she said, more forcefully than before, "Would you just _shut up_?"

May's eyes widened and her jaw dropped and she pointed giddily, saying, "Your face! Oh my Mew, you should _see _your _face_!"

Misty shoved her into the room, closing the door behind her, and checking to make sure that May was starting to talk to her teacher before storming down the hall, trying to rub the blush off her face and get a few minutes alone so she could punch a pillow or train a little bit. She was grabbed by Dawn, who smiled and linked their elbows and wandered down the hallways, going wherever Misty wanted to go, only slowing her down when she saw Kenny.

"Hey, Kenny!" Dawn chimed with a giggle, waving as she walked by. "I like the way you're standing, looks cool."

"I am cool, Dee Dee," he retorted loudly. He wasn't, and everyone knew because he'd been standing with his hand against his locker for about an hour. It had been glued there, and no one was going to find out from _him_ if his pride had anything to say about it, and certainly not Dawn, and not when she was wearing that short skirt and smiling so prettily and walking so closely with the other girl that little lesbian daydreams flashed across his mind.

They walked out together to the fountain, and Misty tugged free so she could take out a school book to bury her nose in and focus on, and Dawn sat with her, giggling every so often, not prodding or asking for anything, which was strange. She eyed the younger girl, wondering if she had anything to do, and finally decided that, maybe, she was hanging out with her because she couldn't bother May, or maybe her other friends were busy discussing report cards.

Then her phone rang, and Misty pulled out her phone. There was no ID to it. It wasn't anyone she had in her contacts, it wasn't in the Goldenrod area code, and she'd never gotten spam messages on her phone before. Hoping that someone could explain, she showed the phone to Dawn, tapping her shoulder and tilting it her way, and asking very, very confusingly, "Hey, who's number is this?"

Dawn looked over, grinned, and began to swing her legs under the bench she sat on, making it suddenly stunningly clear as to why she had been following her out onto the bench. She jeered merrily, "Nope, don't know! I'm just a stupid frosh! You'll have to pick it up if you want to know!"

"You know who it is," she accused, glaring at the phone when it went into voice mail, and then almost immediately began to ring again as someone tried their hardest to call her.

She cocked her head, making her voice high and childish, "Do I? Doesn't matter. You have to figure it out for yourself. Best answer, it could be important. Probably is important, like a dead relative or someone being pregnant with twins, but what do I know? I'm just a stupid frosh!"

She glared, and let it go into voice mail again, hoping whoever it was would catch the hint, then moaning when they called it again. Reluctantly, she opened her phone, cautiously raised it to her ear, and expecting someone calling from a bathroom that said _for a good time call _and then her number, answered "Hello?"

"Hey, Misty, why are you trying to avoid a thank you? If you didn't want a hug you could have said."

"Ash? How'd you find out…how'd you get…" She shook her head, looking around as if he was spying on her in the bushes. Then frowned, because he wouldn't do something like that, and, honestly, now that he had her number and had figured out she was avoiding him, those questions didn't really matter. Instead, she asked, "What's going on?"

"Dawn gave me your number and everyone knows _every_thing about you," he answered her, though she had long since given up on all those questions. "You're like the main character of a soap opera." He switched into his best soap opera announcer voice, which sounded like his voice, only lower, and with a vague accent that was from somewhere far away: "_This is Goldenrod High, where one girl makes her stand against the world. Will the cute best friend Ash pass his midterms? Will the ugly Gary ever stop being a complete ass? Find out next week on Goldenrod High!_"

"You're so friggin' dead it's not funny," she spat as the blue haired girl, who was now laughing and nearly falling off her bench at the older girl's reaction. "Ash, I've got a boyfriend. You can't go around hugging me."

"But the whole pillow fighting thing is okay? Really, Mist, we wrestled." He grinned on the other side of the line, and though he was embarrassed to say it, he couldn't give up the chance to tease her. "I probably got further with you than Gary did."

"Don't call me Mist. And the pillow fight was just as _friends_ and it'll never happen again," she hissed. Her face was bright red, and where she had argued with May that it hadn't even been friendship, with Ash she didn't want to know what else he would pull out to tease her with.

His grin only got wider, and, as payback for her recent terrible tutoring, her dating his rival, and every so often coming to his room dressed in clothes that he knew were meant for showing off from Gary, he snickered, "I don't know, Misty, if you're going to accuse me of being more than friendly I might have to act like it."

"Shut up!" she cried, going red to her ears and making Dawn's laughs come even harder. "You know what I meant by it!"

"Nope. Don't think I do. Explain it, teacher. That's what you're here for!"

She growled, practically hearing the obnoxious little smirk sure to be on his face (and, in fact, was) over the phone. "Okay, you obviously don't mean anything by it and it was dumb of me to think so. Please don't hug me so nobody gets the wrong impression."

"No problem," he said, and thought for a moment, then added as a little victory for the day, "but the nickname stays."

_Click!_

Misty shot a glare at the girl, now calm and smirking, and retorted. "Why do you even care? What did I ever do?"

She shrugged. "Actually, it's more about him than it is about you."

The girl blinked. "And what, exactly, makes him so special?"

She thought about it seriously for a moment. "You know, I'm not quite sure. But I think the only way you can kill him is by putting kryptonite under his pillow."

* * *

Misty groaned, her hand entwined with Gary's, swinging gently as they walked to the boys' dorm together. Her head fell on his shoulder, smelling his pricy cologne and appreciating the scent. She felt his eyes on hers, hand gripping a little tighter, then softly explained, "I don't get it. I'm dating the hottest guy in school and everyone wants me to go for Ash. Why can't they mind their own business or just let me be happy?"

"Jealousy." Gary grinned. "You really think I'm the hottest guy in school?"

"You know you are. You don't need me to boost your ego." She leaned back and punched his shoulder lightly, then leaned on it again like she had fluffed it like a pillow. "Stop acting all surprised and explain to me why my life is suddenly so riveting."

"Because you hang out with Ash," he said, choosing his words carefully. "He's…interesting. I guess. You hang out with him which makes _you_ interesting. He's special in the good way."

"You're special too," she protested placing herself in front of him and taking up both his hands, looking up at him earnestly. "Gary, you can be a jerk sometimes but…but you're smart and funny and sweet and handsome and…Mew, Gary, you're so fantastic! I'm happy with you, I really like you, and I don't know why nobody else can see that you really can be a good guy." She sighed. "Damn it, I sound sappy. Ignore everything I just said."

"I like you sounding sappy." He pecked her lips softly.

She smiled and kissed him back, warming up her insides like hot cocoa. They dropped the kiss, and walked down the street hand in hand, and she let her head fall back to his shoulder once again. She was slipping back into her half dreamy state, when Gary said, "You know, I have a battle with Ash this afternoon, after you finish studying with him. You should come and see it. I think you'll really get a kick out of it."

She groaned softly. "But that means _more _Ash. Can't you just ditch it and hang out with me?"

"He's a good battler. I mean, I hate admitting it, but, honestly, he's better than I am. I've got better pokémon but, I mean, he still wins the bulk of the time. When I do, it's usually type trumping. Did you know he beat an onyx with his Pikachu?"

"Did he?" she said, barely interested. "Well that's awfully talented of him."

"It's really worth seeing, Misty. You'll regret missing it."

"I'll see him at the tournament. It's no big deal. I'm tired though. Mentally. I just don't get why everyone is suddenly so concerned about what's going on with my life, and I just want to sleep and stop thinking about it for a while." She groaned, knowing she was in the dorm by the warm air and the smell though her eyes were shut tight. "But I can't, because I have to go teach Ash all about history because he's as dumb as a sack of potatoes."

"Don't insult the potatoes," he countered, then gave her another kiss. "Really though, stick around for the battle if you feel up to it. I think you'll really enjoy it."

"Mmm," she hummed uncertainly, and turned into Ash's room, letting her boyfriend head upstairs to his.

He wasn't studying, as he almost never was, but this time was not simply playing with Pikachu. He had a bulbasaur tumbling around his feet, and he was on his hands and knees, play wrestling with the strong, sturdy creature who seemed to be having the time of its life. Several more pokeballs were laying out on the desk, and she rolled her eyes, betting that a number of pokémon had gotten some time outside of their balls and inside Ash's room, though they certainly weren't _supposed _to be let out.

"Midterms at the end of this quarter," she scolded, watching him spring away from the pokémon and race over to his desk, bulbasaur starting a confused conversation with Pikachu who began chattering away, probably explaining something that Misty liked to imagine was "_he's her bitch"_. She grinned at the thought and nudged the boy, who looked up from his papers, "You really need to buckle down to pass them."

"You know what else is this quarter?" he said, smiling suddenly.

He leapt up to his spinning chair, stood on it, and started spinning rapidly. By this time, Pikachu was on his shoulder, and Misty couldn't help but marvel at the mouse's strength and balance to hold on with that much ease ease. If she could cling to him like that without hurting him, there must have been some decent training, better than decent. She didn't get much a chance to ponder it, because he snatched up her hand and tugged her to her feet as she tried to sit on the bed, an effort to get her in the spirit. "It's the competition! Big battles! Real prizes! Oh man, this is going to be so cool! You'd better battle hard, Mist. I'm going to face you in the finals!"

"What did I tell you about calling me Mist?" she fumed, though knowing the point was moot by now. Ash had already won that battle on the phone, and her fighting it now wouldn't make a bit of difference. Either way, he had darted off again to spin on his chair, Pikachu clinging tight to his shoulder, smiling her mousy smile. She groaned, stood up, marching over to him and prodded, "Come on, Ash! We've got to study this! You'll never pass if-."

"Who needs to pass? I'm going to be a pokémon master! Pokémon masters don't need to know math!" he shouted, sounding very much like he was ten.

She could only imagine the kind of headaches she could have gotten if she had met him at ten, then quickly pushed the idea out of her mind. She grabbed the chair, making it stop, and was fairly disappointed when he didn't go tumbling to the floor, but grabbed the back of the chair, staying balanced on it, and Pikachu still balanced on his shoulder. She flicked his forehead sharply, making him wince, though it hadn't been very painful.

"They do if they want to do their taxes right!" she countered.

"You can do my taxes for me." He slid down in the chair and smiled up at her. "I'd pay you loads."

She rolled her eyes, digging through his bag and pulling out the subjects they were going to study that night, muttering hotly, "And I'll run off with all your money."

"No you won't. I trust you." He seemed very serious about it, and she looked up, startled that he would say something along those lines, when she still wasn't sure if she considered him a friend yet. He smiled more at that, and continued, "You won't take anything once you get your bike money back."

She tried to keep the smile off her face, digging through his bag again and saying flippantly, "You wouldn't want me doing your taxes anyway."

"Yeah, you do kinda suck at math. Maybe I'll hire Brock." His face was still flushed with excitement, looking buzzed and excited and almost as electric as the mouse on his shoulder. He really did look like he was ten, in the sense that he'd never grown up and he looked like this battle was going to be his first. "So, studying right?"

They studied. For hours she taught him everything she could, and she truly tried. She had seen kids far braver than him freeze up on big tests, and she wanted to make sure he was confident in the material before going in. Even if he didn't get an A, he needed to go in thinking he would pass or he wouldn't stand the chance. So she wasn't nearly as severe that night, she was far more encouraging, and tried to boost his spirits though hers were falling lower and lower and the night crept on and her mind begged for a rest.

So, when they did finish, she didn't go see the battle.

She went to bed.

* * *

NEXT TIME ON SAILOR MOON: Tsukino Usagi must find the moon princess. Hmm...bunny of the moon. Nevermind. And then there's Tuxedo Mask, who looks suspiciously like Mamoru. But it CAN'T be Mamoru, the most common recurring male and painfully obvious love/hate relationship interest of the main character, Sailor Moon! It can't be because they look exactly alike!

Also, tap dancing dragons.


	10. The Deal

So, apparently, raining Jello isn't "logically sound" in the path of this story, so _that _subplot is out.

Thanks a lot, logic.

* * *

**The Deal**

Early the next morning, before her first class, May took a deep breath and headed over to Drew's locker, which he was digging around inside. She gulped deeply and clenched her hands into fists, and told herself that she would _not _fail today, that she _would _go to the winter dance with Drew, and they would have a great time, and she would get a kiss that she would be able to respond to right because she wasn't sick and near delirious with fever and there wasn't a nearby nurse planning to kill her if she ever tried to sleep.

She leaned against the locker next to his, breathing deeply and trying to calm herself down and hoping very hard that he didn't notice her nervous behavior. Eventually, he looked at her, locker open with a math book in his hand. She told herself to not get lost in his eyes, even though they were deep and green and nearly a pastel, and though she had seen people with green eyes she'd never seen that shade before and-

"May?"

She stood up straight suddenly, all dreamy thoughts of his eyes gone, and squeaked, "Why do we have lockers?"

He stared at her, for the first time in a long time looking genuinely surprised by her topic, and explained as best as he could, "To put our stuff in."

"I get that," she said, starting to blush, and cursing herself mentally, continued, "but we have rooms, and we live on campus, so what's the point of having lockers then? It's kind of a waste of money, isn't it? To have all these lockers when we could just keep our stuff in our room, since most of us can go back in between classes anyway."

"Goldenrod is a big city, May. Plenty of students actually live here," Drew said calmly.

"Oh."

He was about to slam his locker, but her hand shot out, gripping it hard and holding it open, so that he stared at her, raising his eyes. She took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, and blurted, "Hey, Drew, the winter dance is only a week away," however, she didn't stop there, her mouth kept going, the blush rising even hotter up her cheeks, "But…you know, the contest is three weeks off though! Are you ready for it?"

"I'm ready for the contest, but I'm not going to the dance." He shrugged and gave his locker a light tug, but May's hand was still clenched around it in fear and nervousness and a bit of self hatred. He let it go with a sigh, instead opting to fill up his backpack with his math book. "There's no one here worth asking. I probably would have gone if there was a girl who just had the courage to invite me, but we go to a school of cowards."

He zipped up his back pack, stood up straight, and smiled, "I probably won't go to one dance all year."

She grinned suddenly, letting go of the locker happily. "Really, because I was-"

"Doesn't matter now. I have to go to my aunt's birthday party." He sighed very long and very slow, as if it were his aunt's funeral rather than her birthday. Then he shut his locker, spinning in the first two numbers of his combination so he could get into his locker quickly later, then looked her way. "Sorry, May, you were saying something?"

"You know," she accused, shoving her index finger in his face, shaking it accusingly an inch from his nose.

"Sure I do, creeper," he said, pushing her hand away from his nose and heading down the hallway.

May let her head fall heavily against the locker with a groan, and was just about to slide down and curl up into a tight ball of despair on the floor, when something stopped her.

"Don't worry, kiddo," said a reassuring voice, and a warm hand was on her shoulder. Opening her eyes revealed a smiling Melody, looking at her over her sunglasses. "I think Drew really likes you. Eventually, you'll be ready emotionally to have a relationship with him."

"I _am _emotionally ready," May protested, and opened her mouth to interrogate Melody more.

However, the older girl cut her off. "Well, _clearly _not. Let me tell you, you are one hundred percent physically ready. Zapdos, what are you already, a C-cup? And your breasts might keep growing until you're eighteen."

May blushed. "Could you not-?"

"So it _has _to be an emotional thing, it just has to be. But you're in one of those years where it could be very emotionally developing. You could finally become a real woman. Or something. If you want to know want I mean I suggest watching nearly any teen movie from the 1980s. Those were always about finding yourself. Or _The Sandlot_, great movie about growing up in a single year. A single summer, really."

May gawked at her, jaw dropping. "You're so _weird_."

"I grew up on a small island," she said seriously. "There was a lot of incest in our past. In fact, I'm pretty sure my parents are cousins, _first _cousins, because that is the only way our family tree makes sense."

"Oh, Melody," May said softly. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. I'm screwing with you." Melody laughed and clapped her on the shoulder. "Good luck asking Drew out! You'll get it sometime, kiddo."

And May stared, slack jawed and horrified at the way her morning was turning out, and could only hope that, perhaps, her friends would have a better day.

* * *

Considering the only story worth telling on Misty's side started with a shriek of, "Where the hell is Ash?" it was safe to say that at least one of May's friends was not having a better day.

Misty was angrier than she should have been, considering she didn't enjoy tutoring Ash and she didn't like hanging out with Ash and certainly she could find better things to do than run around campus trying to find the stupid boy. It would have been bad enough for May to see her acting this way, who she was intending to meet up with, but far worse for Dawn to look up from her math book and arch an eyebrow in a way that was so insinuating she blushed.

She stared for a moment, panting after her run down from the boys' dorm, and trying to ignore the fact that Dawn was, for certain, thinking of hundreds, if not thousands, of horribly embarrassing sexual jokes all directed at the goal of utterly embarrassing the redhead. She decided to meet Dawn's eye contact and try to hold her voice steady, "So, I don't suppose you know where Ash is right now?"

Dawn smirked. "Why do you want to know where Ash is?"

"We have tutoring to do."

The blue eyed girl's smirk widened. "Is that what they call it nowadays?"

"Do you know where Ash is?" Misty fumed.

She tapped a finger on the top of her book, her smile grew and she accused, "Why haven't the two of you said I love you yet? Are you cheating on Gary?"

Misty eyes widened. "How'd you know we hadn't said I love you?"

"Because I can keep a secret, I swear!"

"No, I mean it," the redhead insisted. "How'd you-?"

"You can tell me that you're a two timer and I won't hate you at all. You just have to tell me in case I have to cheat in the future." She set her book aside very seriously and got on all fours, leaning towards her, and clearly aching for a good secret. "Then it's mutually assured destruction."

"How is this anything like nuclear wa-forget it." Misty groaned and knocked her head softly against the wall. She clenched her fists tight enough for them to ache, then, very slowly, saying, "I'm not cheating on Gary and I'm not going to say it yet. We've barely been together a month. You don't say I love you that early and ruin everything."

Dawn scoffed. "Yeah, you do."

"Mew!" she cried, exasperated. "What teen drama have you been watching?"

"Please, like saying I love you means anything these days!" She rolled her eyes at the idea and moved to the edge of the bed, leaning so far forward that Misty was amazed she didn't topple forward and crack her head open on the floor, saying firmly, "It's just how you let everyone know that you've claimed him as your boyfriend and everyone else needs to keep their grimy paws off."

Misty glares, spitting, "Stupid frosh."

And, with just as much venom, she retorted, "Stupid senior."

Misty stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her, then realized she still hadn't gotten an answer as to where Ash was. Her fists clenched furiously and she marched back in, hissing, "Listen, Dawn, do you know where Ash is or not?"

"What do you need him for?" she taunted, filing her nails into perfectly rounded ends now, the math book suddenly gone after just a few seconds outside, and she was laying back against the mountain of pillows that covered her bed. "You know, since you don't like Ash and tutoring sounds like hard work, I think you'd be way happier spending time with your real boyfriend."

"Dawn," she warned, gritting her teeth.

"Unless you're actually sneaking out to have an affair, then I could probably tell you where he is." The nail filed pause, and she giggled, looking up at the older girl. "Since he invited me to go with him before he left and everything, and he hangs out there all the time."

"I swear to Moltres, I will-"

"Oh, don't call down the legendaries on me," she said rolling her eyes, and waving her perfectly manicured nails at her. "Ash went down to the stables. He always does whenever he gets antsy. But you might as well give up on that tutoring thing."

"Why?" Misty said, wrinkling her nose. "Because we're going to make out?"

"Because he spends _hours_ down there," Dawn explained angrily. "It's the closest thing he has to Oak's ranch. He won't come back until he's good and ready, so just go back to your room."

"He listens to me."

"Not this time," Dawn hummed.

Her arms crossed. "Every time."

She grinned. "You really have to get to know Ash better."

"I know him just fine!" she shouted, and slammed the door behind her.

She didn't spend too much time dwelling on why she found it so important that she knew Ash well. She didn't spend too much time dwelling on anything. Despite the fact that it was freezing and snowing, she walked right by her room and headed down for the stables, pulling up a map of the campus in her head and trying to find the shortest way to get there.

Misty hadn't gone to the stables for a long time, not since she had a class a year or two before where they brought a tauros out and quizzed them over attacks and anatomy. As a consequence, she had forgotten exactly how far it was. She hadn't grabbed a sweater, and went out in jeans and a t-shirt, and ten minutes into her walk was shivering as she tried not to stumble down a snow covered hill, because she couldn't remember for the life of her where the actual stairs were.

Twenty minutes and she was opening the door and sliding into the warm wooden stables, breathing in the heavy scent of hay and dirt and livestock. She wrinkled her nose, not fond of the scent, and rubbed her arms as she wandered the two aisles, trying to warm herself up. Ponyta and rapidash and tauros and miltank lifted their heads from their feed to glance at her before dropping their heads, and meowths and delcatty darted around the stables, nose to the ground as they hunted the pests that lived there. She was unlucky enough to come across one that was actually feasting on a rat, the insides steaming as drafts blew the smell to her nose.

"Entei, Raikou and Suicune," she hissed, covering her nose and racing down the aisle.

She continued her search, and jumped when a door pounded open behind her, and she turned to see Ash on a rapidsah. Despite the chill, the horse was sweating, flames bright on its mane and tail, tossing its head proudly and sending a bit of foam from its mouth across the floor. He caught sight of her and grinned, dismounting, and leading the creature by the rope he had attached to its halter. She gaped, realizing there was no saddle, no bridle, just a huge wild creature with a lead rope.

"I didn't know you came around here, Misty!" he chirped. "I've never seen you."

"I was looking for _you_," she snapped icily, wanting to step closer to the rapidash just for its warmth. As it was, just having the thing inside, full of flames from its run, was making the whole stable feel warmer. "We should have started tutoring forty minutes ago, Ash! I have things to do! You can't just run off and do whatever you want, dammit!"

"I forgot, Mist," he said with a shrug, leading the rapidash by her. "I'm sorry."

"Don't you call me Mist," she snarled. "Don't you say sorry! Don't you…don't you do _anything_! Just…just put the rapidash away so we can get the tutoring done with."

"I have to clean her first," he argued, walking her into a nearby stall. He closed the door and unclipped the lead and the halter, petting her face softly then kissing her velvety nose. "I have to brush her and pick her hooves and put on her blanket, or else she'll get sick, and that can take a lot of time. Just go back. We'll skip the tutoring today."

"I can wait for that. It won't take _that _long."

"I want to run another one," he said, shrugging, collecting the tools he needed to clean the horse from a nearby tack box, then going back into the stall. "A ponyta, actually. He's not big enough for me to ride him, and he could really use the exercise."

"We have things to do."

"Do you like riding?" he asked calmly, taking up a brush and making small circles on the rapidash's flank, scrubbing hard as he worked out the worst of the sweat.

She glared. "I don't know how to ride."

He paused in his brushing, grinning at her. "Want to learn?"

She stiffened. "Mew, no! I'm a water pokémon trainer, the last thing I need is-"

Somehow, Ash was instantly by her side, and then she was by the side of the rapidash. Her hand was surrounded by blue, hard rubber, her back pressed to Ash's front. Then, his hand covered her hand, moving it in small circles. Her stomach clenched strangely as he spoke, his breath hot on her neck, telling her that it was a curry comb, and this is what brought up the sweat and dirt and loose hair, and the other brush would take it away, and that the curry comb was the most important after a ride. She could hardly focus on his words, and couldn't believe she wasn't protesting.

"It's a lot different from taking care of water pokémon, right?" he asked.

She nodded mutely, wondering when he had switched the curry comb from a normal looking animal brush, and finding herself very curious about the rough spots on his hands that Gary didn't have as he moved her arm in a slow, smooth flicking motion. She heard herself talking, voice sounding distant, saying, "There's special soaps and things, and there really aren't brushes, just sponges, though sometimes I use pumice on staryu to get rid of algae."

"That probably gets cold."

"Mmm," she hummed her agreement. "I don't mind the cold. Gym Leader blood, you know? I could last a lot longer than you could in this weather, even if you had a thicker coat. It works best when I'm swimming, but when I'm running or just standing in the cold, it's still better. I'm usually pretty comfy in the cold. Do you like the cold? Since you're from Pallet, you probably like it warm. I know Gary does."

He felt him shrug, and noticed that there was an even softer brush in her hand that made the rapidash's coat shine. "I like it hot, actually."

Her heart lurched in her chest, and she jumped suddenly, darting away and scaring the rapidash. "We have tutoring to do!" she said firmly.

Ash rolled his eyes and sighed, then finished tending to the creature, picking the hooves clean and taking a wet hair brush and running it through the mane and tail so the flames hissed before calming and looking fresh and groomed. He left the stall, and she followed, still scolding about tutoring, scolding louder when he brought out a ponyta, clearly big enough to be ridden, and saddling it with one of the big, bulky saddles with a little horn on top, rather than the tiny compact ones, and attaching a lead rope to the halter.

"Put your foot here," he said, cupping his hands low.

She eyed him suspiciously. "My shoes are dirty."

"Put your foot here," he said again, more firmly. "You're learning how to ride."

"I don't need to know how to-"

She wasn't able to finish her thought, because she felt a gentle spark on her hand and looked over to see Pikachu sitting on the ponyta, patting the saddle in a reassuring way. Misty's eyes flicked back and forth between Ash and Pikachu, then, with a quiet groan of defeat, knowing that this was, quite possibly, the only way she would get her tutoring done tonight, she allowed Ash to help her onto the ponyta, who shifted curiously under her weight, and perked up his ears when he felt her grab the horn tight, trying to keep her balance in the large saddle.

Ash clucked quietly, and put his hand on the ponyta's nose. "Dancer, be nice. It's her first time." One of Dancer's ears went sideways, the other staying up, and the tension eased from his body, and he leaned to one side, resting, ignoring Misty desperately clinging to the horn. Ash stepped to the side and grinned up at her, trying not to laugh at her awkward position on the ponyta, and understand instantly why Dancer had thought that he could take advantage of her inexperience. "How have you been here all this time and you've never ridden before?"

"I'm a water trainer," she said fiercely. "I don't do a lot with land, and even less to do with fire. You'll notice that the most common thing to ride is _made_ of fire."

"So, just because you were a water trainer, you never wanted to try anything else?" he pressed.

"Well, I…" She paused, looking down at the horse, then frowned as the blush spread up her cheeks. She couldn't find it in her to tell him that, no, she had never wanted to try riding or flying or many of the other things that weren't related to her specialty. "Let's just get this stupid thing over with so we can go back to tutoring."

He did laugh this time, urging Dancer to walk and ignoring Misty leaning forward, barely balancing on the wide saddle. "We _are _tutoring, Mist. Think of it as payment. You help me with my classes, and I teach you not to be like Gary."

She scowled. "What's _that _supposed to mean?"

"It means that you do what you're supposed to all the time."

"And what's wrong with that?" she snapped.

"What's wrong with that," Ash said, very serious as he walked her up and down the aisle, Pikachu now sitting on his shoulder and looking at Misty with interest, "is that you've been in the biggest, most beautiful stable in the world for years, and you never even _thought _to ride."

Misty glared, but she didn't have a thing to say to that, so she stayed silent. She wasn't nearly falling off anymore, but she certainly wasn't comfortable in the saddle. It moved, and she tried to move with it like she would on her bike, and found that it wasn't working at all. The rhythm was far different, with a bike going smooth and fast and Dancer's body swaying from side to side as he walked, like a wide hipped woman.

A few moments, later, she was bouncing in her saddle, clutching the saddle horn and closing her eyes tight as they moved into a faster pace that Ash called trotting. Ash jogged alongside her, and, horrified, she realized that he was not going to tire anytime soon. She tried to relax, tried to sit like she would in a chair, which served only to make her bounce harder and made her crumple forward, wanting to curl up even tighter but afraid to get too close to the flaming mane she was absolutely positive would burn her.

And then it stopped, and she squeaked as she felt the warmth of his hand, guiding her leg, making her stomach twist. She stared at him, pushing her foot back so it was under her hips. He tugged on her shoulders, keeping another hand on her back so she sat up straight, and then put a hand on her stomach. She jumped at that, squeaking again, and she glared at Ash's giggle and blushed, both of them knowing that he'd accidentally tickled her, and that was definitely not something she wanted him to do.

He cleared his throat, and then, in a horribly teasing voice began, "So, you're ti-"

"Shut up," she snapped. "And stop _touching _me. Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

"It's easier to show you the first time. You felt how it was before, and now, hold still, get a feel for this position." He began walking again, leaning Dancer, glancing back at her to make sure she was indeed holding her position. She was, surprisingly well, but he supposed that she'd probably instructed her body to do far more complicated things than holding a position for a few minutes. "Besides, you're in a western saddle. Be happy I didn't put you in an English one. You probably would have fallen off already. This is broader, and you can be a bit sloppier with your position when you're doing slow stuff like this."

"I don't want to be in _any _saddle," she said, not wanting to admit that, yes, she was much more balanced in this position, and her mount didn't seem quite so unhappy with her as he did before.

"No, today you're having fun. _Tomorrow _you'll be sore, and then you'll really hate me."

"Where am I going to be sore?" Ash didn't answer, and she took a hand off the horn to jab his shoulder and insisted, "Come on, where am I going to be sore tomorrow?"

He smirked wickedly. "You're ready to trot again, huh?"

She gulped, grabbing the horn. "No, probably not."

"You're not sitting right," he pointed out. She glared, and he taunted, "Need me to position you again?"

She snapped into the correct position, back straight, shoulders back stomach sucked in and legs back, and a few seconds later they were trotting, falling into a two beat rhythm and a lovely sound of clip-clopping on the concrete that she usually associated with hoof beats. She still bounced, but nowhere near as much as before. It was almost comfortable, and kind of fun, and after a minute or so of bouncing her grip loosened on the horn and she reached forward to give Dancer a pat on his shoulder, and grinned up at her, and she tried to avoid his gaze, mostly because she knew by now she was smiling, and she was positive if he caught her he would rub it in.

"Want to canter?" he asked.

"What's cantering?"

Ash clucked to Dancer and picked up a run, and after a bit of reluctance, he picked up a quicker, rocking stride. It wasn't nearly so bouncy as the trot, and she gasped, smiling like an idiot as they went around the stable, until Ash slowed to a trot, then a walk, and ran his fingers through Dancer's mane. He caught her smiling this time, and, to her surprise, only smiled back and continued walking around, cooling the creature. Misty was panting, both from excitement and from using new muscles, and laughed merrily.

"That was really cool." Out of habit of rewarding for good behavior, she stroked Dancer's neck, not noticing when her hand went up into the mane, which didn't feel like fire but hair, warm and flowing strangely under her touch.

"You did well," he encouraged. "Next time we'll put on a bridle and I'll try and get you to make him walk and trot on your own."

"And canter," Misty said eagerly.

He shook his head. "There's no way you'll be ready to canter on your own next time."

She fixed her position again, then took her hand from the horn, holding imaginary reins as they walked slowly to prove that she had her balance and the position down now, then boasted, "Hey, I'm a candidate for the Elite Four, Ash. I pick up on things way quicker than you think. You just wait. The next time we do this, I'll be cantering around outside the barn all on my own."

He laughed. "I thought you didn't want to ride?"

"Shut up, Ash." She tried to put on a cruel expression, but couldn't stop herself from smiling. "And we're supposed to be studying you know. Tonight was supposed to be English, too. You know you're terrible at English."

Ash promised, "We'll do English next time."

"We should be doing it _this _time," she argued.

He stopped looking up at her with his annoying, overly cheerful smile. "So, what you're saying is that you didn't have fun?"

She shrugged a little, starting to look down at the floor. "Well, yes, but-"

"And when was the last time you had real fun?"

"I have plenty of real fun!" she argued, looking around her. "How do I get down?"

"How do you have fun?" he retorted pleasantly, running his hand up and down Dancer's nose.

"Well, I…I sneak out of my room with May sometimes."

"So, when you break the rules," he said, smirking.

"Not just then! Other times! Like when…" She wracked her brain, trying to think of something.

"You never do anything you want."

She glared. "I do _too_, Ash, I-"

"You're going to be an Elite, that's what _everyone _told you," he said. "So you're getting ready for being a Gym Leader, and being an Elite, and you only practice your water pokémon and your school stuff and you never try anything different. You just do it because everyone _told _you to do it. So you never had any of the fun that you should have had because you were too busy working on being the best Elite candidate possible."

She crossed her arms, slouching a bit as she grumped and losing her picture perfect riding pose. "Will you let me down, Ash?"

"I'm going to teach you how to have fun," Ash promised.

She grit her teeth. "Will you get me _off_ of this-?"

"One question."

"Fine. Ask your question, then get me down."

He leaned on Dancer's flank, looking very mischievous, and taunted, "Are you really ticklish?"

She stiffened. "Why do you want to know?"

"Blackmail."

"Blackmail for what?"

"Tell me first," he said in a sing song tone.

She held up a fist. "Would you just-?"

"If you don't tell me, I'll have to find out myself."

Her demeanor changed instantly, eyes widened and hands snapping down around her stomach protectively as she rocked back away from him as far as the saddle would allow. "Don't you _dare_."

"That bad?"

She scowled, drummed her fingers on the saddle horn, and finally snapped, "Yes. So don't you dare do it. I don't like it. Now let me down."

He held up a hand. "Hold on, one last thing."

She groaned, eyeing the floor and wondering if the concrete would really hurt that bad if she fell. "Would you just let me down?"

"Once a week," he began, "we'll do something I want to do. We'll go riding, or we'll watch a kids' movie, or we'll go do laser tag or something. No getting out of it. If you get sick or something, that's one thing, but nothing that would stop you if you were tutoring. If you do, I'll tell the whole school that you're ticklish."

She rolled her eyes. "Yes, that small secret is enough to-"

"And," he said very seriously. "I'm going to let them imagine all on their own how I found out."

She stared for a moment, mouth dropping open at the plan which was remarkably smart for Ash, then squeaked, "Wednesdays good for you?"

* * *

Now, wouldn't that have been better with raining Jello?


	11. Questions

So, once upon a time, there was this dragon. His name was Fred. And I met Fred, and we sat down, and we discussed our favorite franchise pokemon, and he said it would be really cool if all the pokemon characters went to high school.

And that's how this story came to be.(1)

* * *

**Questions**

"Pair up, kids!" Bruno called, clapping his massive hands together. The sound was like thunder in the gym, bouncing off the walls and instantly stopping the chatter from the class. "We'll spend the last twenty minutes alternating between bounce passes and chest passes. Practice your weaknesses. I want to see everyone get a basket this week, alright? Don't make a repeat of last week. I'm sick of seeing the scoreboard at zero-zero, people!"

There was a mad scramble for partners, and May winced as she looked over to see her usual partners, Danielle and Karen, paired up with one another, and looking at her apologetically. She moaned softly to herself and began her walk of shame up to Bruno. She knew most of the kids in the class, but she wasn't close enough to any of the others to think that she would manage to get a partner. This meant she would have to take whoever was left over. Not that she minded the left over kid, but she did mind Bruno shouting to the whole gym that she didn't have a partner so some other partnerless person would come forward.

She was just about to speak when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see Ash, in the hideous gym uniform of gold and white trimming, holding a basketball under one arm and smiling at her. He held up the ball and asked, "Hey, need a partner?"

May had no clue who Ash usually partnered with, but she eagerly snatched the ball up from his hands, starting towards the line she would have to stand on to pass. She smirked at him, her nerves calming and the tension in her chest loosening. "You know, those gold shorts? They make your legs look fantastic."

"Shut up." He laughed.

"No, really," she said, nodding seriously. "Those shirts, they don't make your thighs look weirdly hairy at all."

"Pass it, Maple," he said, sounding very stern but his smile growing wider with every second.

She passed it, giving one last retort of, "Trash talk is a key part of basketball" before the passing game began.

Ash wasn't as great at basketball as he had been at running, but he was decent enough at both passes that he didn't have to try too hard, and was able to switch up between the two types. Meanwhile, May spent her time trying to get her chest pass right, which always seemed to fall somewhere in the middle of the two of them, turning into a terrible bounce pass. Ash tried to help, but considering his only advice was, "Throw it harder", he wasn't much help.

At the end of class, he volunteered to put the ball away, and since she was changed first, she waited patiently for him outside of the locker room. They started walking back together in silence, then May glanced at him and blurted, "I wanted to thank you."

"It's no big deal. You looked lost, like you really needed a partner." He shrugged and patted her shoulder warmly. "You're really nice, May. Sorry that you had me for a partner today. I'm usually not that great at basketball and-"

"No! You did great!" she said hurriedly. She grabbed his arm, then let go in a flash blushing and looking down at the floor. "I mean, ever since you came here, you've been really great. You…I don't know, Ash. You make this place brighter. I love hanging out with you. It's really nice."

He paused, gulping. "Uh, this isn't…"

"Isn't what?"

"Uh, this isn't a love confess-?"

Her eyes widened and she shook her head wildly, not realizing that her vehemence in rejecting a crush on Ash might have been the slightest bit hurtful. "Oh, no! Oh, Mew, no! It…no. I's not, at all. I mean, I like…" She blushed and smiled to herself a little. "I like someone, yeah. It's not you, though. I mean, I've known him for a really long time, and whenever he talks to me I just-"

"It's Drew."

"What?" she said, snapping out of her daydream.

"Drew? Is he the guy?"

"I…how'd you…" Her blush grew terribly dark and she could only squeak, "What?"

"I'm pretty sure he likes you."

"Really?" she gasped giddily. In that instance, her worries were gone, and any idea of how Ash found out about her crush on Drew was gone in a flash. Instead, she was practically dancing next to him, giggles rising up in her throat and almost wanting to fling her arms around him at the verbal confirmation. She calmed herself down enough to try and think rationally, remembering that she was eighty percent sure Drew had kissed her and it wasn't just a dream, but hadn't made a move since. "Why? Did he say he likes me?"

Ash explained, "He talks about you."

"Really?"

"A _lot_," his tone turned flat, and he glared into the distance.

May didn't notice, instead simply swooning in girlish glee. "That's so sweet!"

"Annoying, actually," Ash corrected dryly. "The word I'd use is annoying. If Misty talked about Gary that much, I'd go crazy."

"I can't believe he talks about me."

"A lot. A near creepy amount," he continued.

She shook her head. "Okay, but he talks nice things about me."

"Yeah. Like how you smell."

There were many things that May had been expecting to hear, mostly silly poetic things about how he thought her eyes were gorgeous, deep oceans and that her skin felt softer than silk and her voice was like a choir of angels, and she supposed a few things about her personality would have been nice too. However, in all her thoughts about what a boy would like about a girl, she most certainly did not expect her smell to be one of them. She gawked at him, gasping, "What?"

"Your hair, I mean."

"Oh." That wasn't too weird, she supposed. In fact, it was kind of sweet and romantic, and maybe that would mean he would like cuddling with her just so he could put his face in her hair. She sighed at that and asked dreamily, seeming to forget that Ash was a boy, and a boy who was exceptionally not interested in love stuff and gossip, "Does he like it?"

"Yeah," Ash said, immediately addressing his primary question, "How does he smell your hair?"

"I don't know."

There was silence for a beat, then Ash rather cautiously asked, "Can I smell your hair?"

"Please don't." She changed the topic as abruptly as possible, because the air between them became filled with many small awkward particles, and Ash was clearly struggling to think of something to say to make the smelling her hair question a little less creepy. "So, what are you up to tonight? I'll probably be writing my English essay until three in the morning. I've been putting it off and it's due tomorrow."

"I can't put anything off," Ash said, which was clearly meant to be sullen but was far too happy about the topic change to be anything but relieved.

"Misty's on your back?" she giggled.

"All the time!" he complained. "I've never done so much homework in my life."

"Oh, no. She makes you _do your homework_?" she cried in mock horror. "The fiend!"

"Come on!" he whined. "There's a lot."

"Oh, hush. Whatever you have, I have _way _more. Honors English, you know."

"Fancy."

"It is." She sighed, the two continued down the hall, heading down the path to the dorms before they would have to break off. It would be a little while yet, but she was already thinking about how she'd miss his company. She pushed the thought out of her mind, then said, "Hey, you never answered my question."

"Which one? One of the Drew ones?" he asked wearily, worried that he might end up saying something quite like the hair line once again, and, even if he wasn't going to do it, horrified at the thought that he would have to talk to May about more girly things and pretend to be interested when he honestly couldn't care less about who was making out with who unless it was two girls and he was allowed to watch, maybe, because he thought that watching two girls make out was supposed to be hot.

"No." His daydreams flew out the window, and he focused on her once again. "I asked you what you were doing tonight."

He groaned. "Aside from tutoring?"

"Aside from tutoring," she confirmed.

"Well, Gary has loads of soda in his room, and sometimes there's too much of it, so he has a party kind of thing so we can all go over and drink it. There's not a lot of us, like, five guys tops, but Brock cooks and we play video games and stuff. It's actually pretty fun."

She agreed, "That sounds fun."

"I'd invite you but, you know, it's in the boys' dorm."

"Oh, that's fine." She smiled and waved it all off. "I told you, I have an essay to write anyway. I'll just be in a room with Dawn all night, and she's going to tell me all the gossip around school and I'm going to be able to type a remarkable one hundred words an hour."

"You should be careful with gossip," Ash warned sincerely.

"I know, I know," she groaned. "It's all lies."

"It isn't all lies. That's the problem." His voice was strangely solemn, and she looked over at him in surprise. She hadn't seen Ash looking contemplative before, but, at that moment, she thought that was how she would describe him. He was thinking seriously, and then he stopped as suddenly as he had started, and smiled brightly at her. He waved as he set down the path to the boys' dorm, and she walked down the path to the girls'. "See you tomorrow, May."

"Tomorrow, Ash!"

She put any thoughts about how strange it was to see Ash focused and thinking out of her mind, and instead thought about how nice it was to have some kind of confirmation that Drew liked her, aside from that one kiss which, once again, she was pretty sure happened but had gotten absolutely no indication of from then on. Though, all she really knew was that he talked about her a lot and that he liked the way her hair smelled, and she supposed that those things weren't very good to base a relationship on.

May walked into her dorm, closing and locking the door happily behind her, and then turning and feeling a sudden dread rise in her stomach. Dawn was grinning wickedly at her, with a kind of look that said she had a secret, and she was going to tell May whether she wanted to hear it or not. She groaned and let her head fall against her chest, hearing Dawn leap off the bed and race up to her, and asked, "What?"

"I've got something good," Dawn said eagerly. "Really, really good."

Just as blandly as before, May asked again, "What?"

"I mean, this is birthday present good."

"What is it?"

Dawn grabbed her by both shoulders, looked her dead in the eyes, and gasped, "This is call Melody and place a wager good."

"I have an essay to write," she said, pushing past the blue haired girl and immediately whipping open her laptop to continue an essay on _Of Mice and Men_, which she had been sure, just a few minutes before, was eight pages long, not five, and was wondering if she could make it to the minimum of seven pages by fiddling with the margins a little or making the punctuation bigger, before feeling guilty and knowing she was going to have to write another two pages before the morning came.

"No, you want to know this," Dawn insisted, kneeling by May's desk and looking up at her hopefully.

"I really don't."

"It's really good."

"I doubt it."

"It's about Ash."

"He's popular in the rumor mill."

"And Misty."

"So is she."

Dawn frowned and poked May's left arm, which was laying limply as she used her right to scroll around the page to slowly read her essay, and trying to figure out little places to put in heavily padded sentences and needless adverbs. "And you're not interested?"

"There's a lot of lies," she sighed.

"This isn't a lie."

"And how do you know?"

"Misty told me."

May slammed her laptop shut and she stared at Dawn, who was happy for all the wrong reasons. May most certainly didn't care about whatever the rumor was, because she was certain if Dawn classified it as a rumor is couldn't possibly be anything too important, but she did care about the fact that Dawn had seemed to usurp her as Misty's best friend, and was desperate to get to the bottom of it. "She told _you_? Why didn't she tell _me_?"

"She came over _looking _for you, but you weren't here, and I was." May relaxed visibly at that, and Dawn plunged on before she could turned her attention back to her essay. "So, she didn't want to tell me, but she was freaking out and she needed someone to talk to, but you weren't coming back for a while. So she said I couldn't tell anyone and I said okay and closed the door when she-"

"Why are you telling me?" May said seriously. "When you promise not to tell anyone, you really shouldn't tell anyone. That makes you a liar."

"She was going to tell you. This doesn't count."

"I don't think that's true."

Dawn groaned and rolled her eyes. "Oh, would you just shut up already! Misty is actually having fun with Ash."

"She finally admitted she doesn't really hate him, huh?" she asked idly, opening her laptop once again, and cursing herself for slamming it shut. Although it had been dramatic, and it had felt good to do, her laptop had hibernated, and she now had to wait for it to start up. She drummed her fingers on the table as she watched the loading screen, "That's big of her. I didn't think she'd say that anytime soon."

"No," Dawn's voice dropped dramatically low as she whispered, "they're _doing_ stuff."

"Dawn, that's really vague. Could you-?"

"_Fun_ stuff."

"Interrupt me," May said flatly. "That's exactly what I was going to ask. How'd you know?"

"Movies and riding ponyta and stuff. They're going out of their way to do fun stuff. Misty is really not happy about it. I mean, she's really mad and I asked her why she was doing it and she blushed and said that Ash was blackmailing her."

"What?"

"Yes!" Dawn cheered, finally seeing a genuine interest from May. She frowned to herself. "Oh, maybe I should have started with that."

"How is Ash blackmailing her?"

"She wouldn't say."

"Didn't you ask?"

"I begged! I asked and pleaded and begged and tried to bribe her and nothing, absolutely nothing. She wouldn't say, and she said that she wouldn't tell anyone." She grabbed May's hands excitedly in her own. "Come on, May, you can pry it out of her! I swear, if it's really bad I can keep it a secret."

"I can't." She shook her head.

"Oh, please?" she pleaded, making her eyes as wide as she could. "I really won't tell."

"I mean, she won't tell me." May pulled her hands away and glared at her laptop, which had reached the login screen, and she quickly typed in her password. "She doesn't talk about anything important. She won't tell me anything. I walked in on her crying one day a few years ago and I _still_ don't know why she was all teary."

Dawn gawked. "But you're her best friend."

"That's not enough."

"How is that not enough?"

"Because it's still not close enough." May shrugged. "She's not that close to anyone. She never tells me what's wrong, she never tells her sisters what's wrong, she never tells her teachers what's wrong. If she doesn't want to tell, she doesn't tell. That's the way she's always been."

"Maybe she'll tell Gary," Dawn murmured.

"She's not going to tell Gary."

"Why not?" The blue haired girl pouted furiously, starting to realize there was possibly no way to get the secret. "He's her boyfriend!"

She stared at her computer, opened her essay, and was happy to see she had remembered to save earlier. She thought for a moment about explaining to Dawn that, while Gary was Misty's boyfriend, Misty most certainly wasn't going to tell him anything important, and that she doubted the relationship would last until graduation. Instead, she opted to change the topic once more by feeding the rumor mill, and sighing, "Did you know that Drew talks about me when I'm not there?"

* * *

Ash went to Brock's room before he went to Gary's, because Brock would let him taste. Granted, Brock also said things like "Tell me what kind of girl you like, Ash, you have to have at least one trait you can name off the top of your heard," which made the good smell of the cream based sauce a little less amazing as he had to sort through the unpleasant thought of romance and girls. H breathed in the sauce deep, only to have Brock push him away so he could add some kind of spice, and Ash pouted.

"Not really. I don't really talk to talk about this stuff either. It's bad enough girls keep sending me love notes. I mean, why are they so obsessed with me? I'm not even good looking. Why not _Gary _with his stupid magical soda bottles?" He frowned at the thought of his rival and his playboy ways and the horrifying amount of soda bottles that lined his room. "That _bastard_. You know, he's not even going into battling even though he battles me all the time! He's going into _research, _the jerk."

Brock shrugged, continuing with his sauce. "Ninety eight percent of the females in the school would argue that."

"That he's a jerk?"

"They think you're cute, like their own boy Lolita."

"Goody," he muttered, putting his chin in his hands and leaning against the cabinets. Brock had a far nicer room than any of the other kids, being a teacher's assistant, and having the privilege of living on campus for cheap, and Ash tried to calm himself down with the extra space and the smell of good food in the air. "You don't know how annoying it is! I want attention, but can't they watch me battle instead of just thinking I'm some sort of life sized sex doll?"

"I can only imagine what would happen if you dress up like a little boy for a day." He smirked. "The girls would probably start crying."

Ash leapt to his feet, furious. "I don't want girls to cry! I want them to battle me so I can be a Pokémon Master!"

"And I want a girlfriend," Brock retorted. He grabbed a spoon from a drawer and dipped it in the sauce, sipping it and swirling it around in his mouth, then waved Ash over. "But we can't all get what we want. Come taste this."

Ash grabbed a spoon from the same drawer, though he picked up a far bigger spoon than Brock had, and made sure to scoop as much of the sauce as possible into his mouth. It tasted good, then went to try and scoop it again, only to have Brock slap his hand away and glare. Ash sighed and thought for a minute, then settled on the description, "Tomato-y."

Brock scowled, clearly not satisfied with that description. "That's because there are _tomatoes _in it."

"Anyway, you can get whatever you want. All you have to do is smile," -he then smiled to show how great his smile could be, which even Brock had to admit was fairly dazzling and made him almost want to grab another spoonful of the sauce to keep him smiling- "and anyone will give you anything, for a discount or for free depending on how nice they are! That's how it works for me."

"Not for the rest of us!" Brock gasped, eyes wide.

"People and pokémon are my strong points. It's easy for me to get pretty much anything." Ash leaned forward dangerously, glaring into Brock's eyes. "That never leaves the room, though, I don't want people catch on. I won't be able to get girls into my room every night without it."

The older boy stared, then smiled a little. "Are you messing with me?"

He giggled. "A little."

Brock grabbed the lid for the pot then made for the door, Ash rushing ahead of him to open it then rushing back to grab his backpack that he had tossed into the corner before the two made their way down the hallway to Gary's room. The other boy's were already there – Kenny, Drew, Paul, Gary himself and Tracey, and all of them looked thrilled to see Brock coming in with the pot, setting it on the table while Gary played the good host and went to get plates and silverware.

"Hey, Tracey, what are you doing here?" Brock asked eagerly, shaking hands with the other boy. "I thought you were at Oak's helping him with his research."

"I had some business here in Goldenrod, and Professor Oak gave me a couple of packages for Gary. It's cheaper than shipping, and I didn't mind dropping it off." He shrugged, then held out his hand to Ash, who shook it. "Hey, Ash! How's it going here? A lot different from Pallet, isn't it?"

He grinned. "I kind of miss my old classes, and my old friends. But, you know, I'm having a good time here, and my grades are pretty good. And I'm really excited for the tournament. How long are you in town for?"

"Just a couple days, and the rest of the time I'm working. Sorry, Ash."

Ash said something letting him know he didn't mind, though that was a lie and he really would like to have another reminder from Pallet Town other than Gary and Pikachu, the latter of which hated the noise and bustle of the boys in the small room and had opted instead to stay curled up in Ash's room, next to the purring computer Ash had left on for just that purpose. He tried to focus on getting a plate and scooping as much of the hot pasta and sausage and sauce onto his plate as it could hold.

The rest of the night continued fairly normally, with the boys chatting and drinking soda and playing with a football which made Gary twitch every time one of them hit a shelf and set some of his valuables shaking, before he came over to sit next to Ash, handing him a yellow power drink that Ash hated, and opening a cherry soda for himself. Ash set it aside and tried to focus on getting every last drop of sauce out of the bowl.

"Do you think Misty would come to Pallet for winter break?"

"Why would she? Pallet's pretty boring compared to the city." Ash shrugged and twirled his fork around in the pasta. "I mean, unless you invited her to come to your house or something, because then she could meet Oak and everything."

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?" he asked, pausing.

"I was planning on inviting Misty with me over break. I wanted her to meet my family and, well, you spend a lot of time with her, and I was wondering if you think she'd come. I mean, I don't want to freak her out by moving too fast. I could always wait until spring, but my parents are really interested and they'd like to meet her as soon as possible, not to mention May probably won't be there, so I don't have to worry about that."

"May?" Ash asked, his mind flashing to the brunette he had talked to earlier, then he shook his head. "Oh, right. Your sister. She's not going to be there?"

"She shouldn't be," Gary said, looking relieved. "But, do you know what she does, religiously? I haven't really brought it up, though I know she's Moltres, right? I think they don't do anything in the winter, but I wasn't really sure, and since, you know, you spend all that time with her and you say stupid stuff that might be offensive I thought you might know a little more about it."

"I don't say stupid stuff that much!" Ash defended hotly. "And, yeah, she's in the House of Moltres. She took the eighteenth off a couple months ago and everything."

"What's the eighteenth?" Gary asked. "She took the eighteenth off?"

"The eighteenth was the…uh, I can't say it. It's this thing where they say goodbye to the sun for the winter. It's a fire house thing, and Moltres do it earlier than anyone else." Ash frowned in thought for a moment. "She said her sisters were doing stuff, but she said it was adult stuff, or stuff you needed a husband or a wife or something for, so she doesn't do it, I think. Well, unless she plans on doing it with you. Didn't she say anything?"

Gary shook his head. "No. I mean, it's probably sex stuff, so we wouldn't be doing it."

"Oh." Ash shifted uncomfortably in his seat, and wondered why he was feeling slightly giddy at the news that Gary and Misty weren't doing anything sexual. "Well, I guess that would probably make sense. Though, I guess, with all of that, she shouldn't have any religious problems seeing you over the winter, and I think she's go just because she'd really want to meet Professor Oak, with him being famous and all."

"You think?"

"Well, yeah. What kind of idiot who wants to go into pokémon would ever pass up meeting your grandfather? The only problem I could see her having is that coming to Pallet means she might have to run into me over break." He chuckled a little. "But I think she really likes you, I don't see why she wouldn't go. I mean, you've got a big house and I'm sure you're going to find a far off spare room for her, right?"

"Yeah, I'm not making her sleep in my room or anything," Gary blurted. "And, my parents and my grandpa are really well known, so I think her sister's would be okay with her staying over. I think I might want to have them call, you know, to get permission first, before I ask her."

"You should probably ask her first," Ash argued. "I'm pretty sure Misty would kill you if you went through her sisters before you talked to her."

"Well, with something like this, I'm sure she wouldn't mind, right? I mean, she has to ask her sisters if she can go anyway."

"I wouldn't if I were you," Ash warned seriously. He set his bowl aside and walked over to get another soda, one he liked, and nearly groaned out loud when Gary followed him to the pile. He popped open the lid and sighed, drinking it slowly until he couldn't stand Gary's curious gaze on him any long. "If you go through her sisters all you're doing is making her feel like they're better than her, that you think they're better than her, or something. She's really self conscious about it."

"Did she tell you?" he asked, eyes widening. "How'd that come up in tuto-?"

"It's _obvious_," Ash growled. "Come on! Everyone knows I'm an idiot and I can tell! She freaks out anytime anyone talks about her sisters, especially when they talk about anything that they did that Misty isn't good at, like them having more boyfriends or them being homecoming queens or whatever."

"Maybe it's just because you're good at people."

"Maybe it's because I pay attention to more than just whether or not my parents would think she would be a good edition to the family. Maybe it's because I don't just think about whether she's good enough to be a part of the Elite Four. Maybe it's _that_, Gary. Maybe it's because we're actually friends instead of you just thinking she looked hot one day and hearing that she was Lorelei's favorite and wanting to hook up with her because it seemed like a great career path!"

By the end, Ash was shouting, and the room had fallen silent, and Gary was staring at him in shock. It took him a few seconds after he finished talking to realize what he had said, and how he had said it, and that Gary had a pretty hot temper and could probably beat the shit out of him if he really wanted. He took a step back and held up his hands, soda still clutched in one, and stuttered, "L-listen, that was way out of line."

"That's not what this is, Ash," Gary growled. "I'm actually into her. You think I'd spend all this time on her just to make my parents happy?"

"I didn't say that you didn't care about her. I know you do. It's pretty obvious you do. I was just saying that, sometimes, you think a little too much about what your parents think and how-"

"So it is that?" he shouted. "You're jealous, and you're looking for all these little ways to break it apart. Can't find anything wrong with the relationship, and can't find anything wrong with her, so you're just going to come after me, right, Ketchum?"

"Not what I said," Ash said hurriedly. "Not what I meant. Just forget I said anything, alright, Gary? I know you like her, I know you really care about her. I think you two are great together. You seem happy, Misty seems happy. I don't like her that way. I don't want to break you up. I mean, if anything, I'm more concerned about May's love life than Misty's. She talks about it all the time. That reminds me, how do you smell her hair, Drew?"

"What?" the boy blinked, looking between the two. "When did this become about me?"

"I love her, Ash," Gary barked.

Ash swallowed. "I'm sure you do. I just…I'm sorry."

"Did you tell her any of it?" he asked, stepping forward so they were inches away. "Did you tell her about you and May? Did you tell her about that?"

"I haven't said anything, and I'm not going to."

He glared for a moment longer, then turned on his heel and stormed out of his own room. The room fell entirely silent, no one moving or talking, but simply staring at the door Gary had slammed behind him, and all of them wondering exactly what that scene meant, and if Gary was going to come back anytime soon and beat the hell out of Ash, considering he seemed one good insult away from doing exactly that.

Then, Kenny cleared his throat and squeaked to Drew, "So, how _do _you smell her hair?"

* * *

(1) That's not true. At all. Fred would never suggest something so ridiculous.


	12. Fun

Considering I'm doing National Novel Writing Month, you can rest assured that this will not affect my work output at all.

After all, I am a WRITING GOD as you all know.

* * *

**Fun**

She hadn't enjoyed her bike ride. She had signed in and barely grunted when Surge tossed out some vague insult and called her a weedle again. Her mind whirled with the idea that maybe, just maybe, Ash had already forgotten their deal, or that it had all been a very strange nightmare and when she went to tutor him he would go back to complaining and her world would continue on with its fairly mundane pattern. It so filled her mind she nearly hit two people, and hit a patch of ice that sent her skidding into a building, scraping the back of her hand.

Misty cursed and leapt off her bike, rubbing snow on the back of her hand to clean it and to numb it, before swinging back on and heading back to the shop, signing out a little earlier than normal, and racing out before Surge had a chance to start a conversation. She pedaled hard and fast, so, despite the chill, she had worked up sweat. The bike nearly crashed into the rack, and she nervously tied it up before rushing inside, all the while hoping and praying to Moltres that Ash had forgotten or had fallen asleep or something, and she could simply leave.

He wasn't. In fact, he was anything but. She walked in on him playing a surprisingly violent shooter, which was weird. Ash had a game system or two stashed in his room, but whenever she came in, he was always playing something that had magic and leveling up, whereas this game involved making weapons out of whatever was on hand and fighting a zombie horde. She tried to back out, but was surprised to see him pause the level and swivel to look at her.

"No way, Misty, we had a deal," he said firmly. "Hold on, I'm just getting to the next save point, and then we're going to do something awesome."

"Like fighting a zombie apocalypse?"

He laughed and shook his head. "Nah, this is just as stress reliever. Nothing better than making a zombie's head explode to make you forget all your problems."

She opened her mouth, about to ask rather rudely about what problems he could possibly have, then thought that was probably a subject better left and untouched. She spoke, trying to sound cheery about the whole thing, and explained, "I managed to talk all your teachers into giving me your winter homework early. We can get it done in no time, I bet. It's not too hard, and it's really not busywork either so it's not eight hours of multiplication tables."

He frowned, and unpaused the game, immediately plunging them into the pounding sounds of zombie survival. It appeared a member of Ash's party had set off some kind of car alarm, and now he was stuck fighting his way to the nearest safe house, shooting zombies out of the way and running them over with the small car they had broken into. She thought that he didn't want to talk about school, but instead heard him mutter, "You got all of it? You didn't have to get _all_ of it."

"You wanted to do some of it by yourself?" she asked, surprised Ash was finally taking an interest in his school work. She brightened at that, thinking that, maybe, if he kept this interest up, he wouldn't need a tutor anymore. "If your promise to get it done and let me look over it when I get back you can do some of your better subjects on your own, but you'd better get it done. I don't want to get in trouble-"

There was a freeze frame of the car slamming into a mall, sending glass flying everywhere, and the game asked him if he would like to save. He clicked yes, but paused on the screen that asked him about continuing. He turned and looked depressingly at the books she was pulling out of her bag. "I've missed homework before without you getting into trouble. I wasn't going to do all of it this time either."

She stopped in her unpacking and went stiff. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whenever the homework looked too hard I just don't tell you about it."

"Ash!"

The girl was clearly furious, as she jumped to her feet so violently she knocked over the stack of books with her hand, and immediately went into a swearing fit as her scratched hand began to throb again. Ash winced and clicked that no, he would not like to continue, and shut off the game. He was quiet for a while, walking around and putting his game system somewhere safe while Misty held her hand tightly between her thighs and continued to swear.

Once she calmed down, he sighed, "So I guess that's bad too?"

"Yes, Ash, that's really, really bad!" she gasped. "I could have gotten in big trouble for that."

"I would have explained it was my fault and you would have been off the hook." She glared at him briefly before returning to her wounded hand, blowing on it softly, and wanting to lick it, but feeling a bit embarrassed to do that in front of Ash. He, in return, went to his fridge in the corner and grabbed a bottle of water, unscrewing it quickly and wetting a paper towel. He handed it to her, muttering, "I promise I won't do it again. Much, but, so, I hear you're headed to Gary's place. I live in Pallet too."

Her shoulders had been slouching with relief at the cool cloth on her hand, and the ache was fading rapidly, only to have it replaced with horror and she stared up at him, realizing that, yes, she and Ash would still be in the same town. Her mind stuttered for a way around it, remembering that towns, especially rural towns, could be really big. She gulped, and asked, "Not close to the lab. Not, like, driving distance, right?"

"If I get my homework done I get to go home too. Talk about your lose-lose situations." He smirked. "But, we're not going to worry about it right now. Because we're going to have fun and not talk about homework or school today."

"Why does this even matter to you?" she moaned.

He started digging through his DVDs, pulling out one that had a case covered in sunset reds, oranges and yellows, though she couldn't make out much more than that. He slid it out of the case and put it into the DVD player, and as it began to load, he leapt onto the bed next to her and grinned. "All that matters is that I'm totally blackmailing you into this, so you _have _to do it, and we're watching _The Lion King, _one of the greatest movies of all time."

"Isn't it just _Hamlet_ with lions instead of people?" she asked dryly.

"I dunno. I think it's based on that or something." He shrugged casually, and went to the options menu to take off subtitles and make sure he adjusted al the settings to the appropriate sound system. "You're the Shakespeare expert."

"Yeah, but I've never seen _The Lion King_."

Ash's jaw dropped. "You've never seen _The Lion King_?"

"No. My sisters always watched all those kinds of movies, and since I usually hated everything they liked, I never bothered seeing any of them. I usually went swimming or rode my bike. I didn't watch that much television or anything, so I don't really know a lot about the media from when we were growing up. Except for _The Neverending Story_, I loved that movie. I watched it all the time, and my sisters _hated _it." She paused, then crossed her arms. "Not that it's any of your business."

"I never said you had to tell me," he shot back, hitting play.

"Yeah, but-"

"Stop, the beginning is the best part!" Ash snapped, and she fell silent.

Later that night, after trying to talk to him several times, she discovered that, apparently, every part of the movie was the best part, because he constantly shushed her and told her so. She finally sighed and stretched out on his bed, careful not to touch him, as the movie rolled on, and found herself enjoying it. Certainly not as much as Ash, who sang all the songs and occasionally quoted lines from the movie, but enough that she thought she'd watch it again. The songs were certainly catchy, and the plot and characters were interesting.

Once it was done, he leaned his head back and beamed at her. "Did you enjoy it?"

"Are we done?" she countered dryly.

"That's a yes."

"It's not a yes, I want to go home," she snapped.

"That's is totally a yes."

"Bye, Ash," she growled, picking up her backpack and swinging it over her shoulder. She paused at the door, spinning to scold firmly, "I want to see a dent made in that homework the next time I stop by, and keep in mind that if your grades start dropping, I don't care what rumors your spread, we're not doing this anymore. Although I don't like tutoring you, I do like the other advantages that come with it, and no stupid rumor is going to keep me from that."

"You enjoyed it so hard," he said, bursting into a giggling fit. "Come on, just admit you loved the movie. Just say it."

"It was _fine_," she said furiously, then blushed when he laughed even harder. She stormed out, slamming the door hard behind her and storming into the snow, getting on her bike, and pedaling as quick as she could to the girls' dorm, skidding to a stop in the snow as she slammed on the brakes and sloppily tied her bike to the rack. She certainly hadn't enjoyed herself and she wanted to get home, and she didn't even bother undressing as she fell into bed.

And the sounds of _I Just Can't Wait to be King _rocked her to sleep, as much as she was loathe to admit it.

* * *

Ash did get all of his homework done, she made sure of that, and he, in turn, apparently decided to make the Wednesday a little more fun for her by putting on _The Neverending Story_, and the week after that taking her out to ride the ponyta, though he still refused to let her off the lead and she felt stupid having him jog alongside her while she rode. So the weeks up to the break were fine, they were fairly normal, her schedule wasn't that out of order.

Until Friday came along, and she knew that Saturday was the day she had to ride the train to Pallet, and she hid inside her closet with her still packed suitcase, glaring at it. She had to take that one, no doubt about it, she didn't have any other bags, but the point remained that it was still ridiculously packed. Her options were to take it as it was, fully packed and ridiculously heavy, or to simply unpack the things she wasn't planning on bringing.

The latter was logical. She sat there, hugging her knees tightly to her chest and fuming, wondering why it was so impossible to simply unzip the suitcase and put her clothes away. This was her home, after all. Even on a vacation one would unpack, getting themselves comfortable for the week, not washing their clothes and folding them up and putting them away again, absolutely refusing to fill up her drawers with anything other than school supplies.

"Moltres, your daughter asks you for strength," she mumbled softly, letting her head fall back against the wall. "Give me the fire to make the decision, the fire that drives all decisions that comes from you, dear Moltres. Moltres, your daughter asks you for strength."

There wasn't a response, but then, there never was. She didn't expect one. But, still, it felt nice to pray, and she let her head fall to her knees, muttering a few more traditional prayers that were lodged deep in her memory, that made her feel warm and fuzzy and she thought back to afternoons in the House of Moltres, somewhere in the center of the city, giggling at the priestesses and priests who shooed her and the other kids out onto the streets, saying, "Unless you plan to meditate with us," in that sneaky way adults do when they know the answer was no.

She missed running around in those streets. She missed getting scolded for always doing the wrong thing. She missed that warm feeling from the churches of the city, whether Moltes or Mew or Articuno, darting into those wonderful places where there were kind people who offered her shelter until the storm passed, and gave her warm hot chocolate or, in some, warm, watered down liquor and told her to drink it slow, and told her she could only have one cup.

She sat in a closet, and she thought about those sweet moments, and, eventually, opened the door and gathered her bathroom supplies without a word, stuffing them into her suitcase without removing anything.

Misty knew that Gary was going to tease her about it, and that he was going to be a gentleman and try to take her bag from her, but she decided then and there that, no, it wasn't going to happen. The bag was hers and no one else's. She wouldn't let Gary touch it, she wouldn't let the conductor touch it, she was going to put it away from herself, and if anyone made a joke about her over packed suitcase she wouldn't dignify it with a response. That was what was going to happen.

Then, for the first time in a long time, Misty trudged into one of the woodier areas of campus and cleared the snow from the ground. There was a wide circle of dirt underneath, and she scuffed at the permafrost until she got to the softer soil underneath, then took an old newspaper and ripped it to shreds, puffing the shreds and then setting fire to them with a small lighter she had in her back pocket. She sat back, and watched it burn.

There were temples were people could set ceremonial fires around campus.

She felt that those seemed to miss the point of the ritual.

* * *

The next day she had her suitcase, thick and ridiculously packed with all her stuff, as she rolled it up to the train and hugged her friends goodbye. Gary offered to take her suitcase, and she declined, instead hauling it on herself, tucking it under a seat, and always keeping an eye out for Ash. She was sure he would be on the train, but despite how she constantly peaked over the top of her book, she never saw him, and had the extremely awkward moment of lying when Gary inquired, "Checking me out, Misty?"

She blushed and ducked down behind her book, and answered, "Long train ride." Gary never attempted to do more than that, never bothered her in her reading, simply continued doing his own thing, which consisted of reading science journals, magazines, and listening to his mp3 player just loud enough so she could hear that he was listening to classical music, and wondered if he was doing it just because he was trying to impress her.

Eventually, the train got to Pallet, and she stepped off, staring in wonder. It was flat as far as the eye could see, and though there was snow on the ground, it was nowhere near as cold as Cerulean, or even Goldenrod in the winter. The train stop was situated in a meadow, filled with tall, bent over grasses from constant trampling, and surrounded by thick trees that, the further south they went, seemed to multiply exponentially, so that she was sitting in a car and driving through what she thought was a forest.

Gary grinned at her. "Nice, isn't it? You should see the Viridian Forest."

She sat up straight, spinning back to him. "This isn't the Viridian Forest?"

"No, it's just green here," he laughed. "Once we get into the suburbs, it's pretty much a giant meadow. Grass, cornfields, you know the deal. It was fun to play in when we were little, me and some of the kids around town, I mean. Nowadays it just means that mowing the grass is really hard."

"It beautiful, though," she murmured, rolling down the window and looking outside, fascinated by the trees rushing by. "You're lucky to have grown up here, you know that? It's really, really incredible."

He shrugged. "I've always liked the city more, myself. You must have had fun, growing up in Cerulean City. You've got more places to hang out, right? Not jut fields."

"Well, my parents were busy, and my sisters and I never really got along, we never hung out. I would either go and swim in the river, or run around with some of the kids in the city. Some of them liked to beg for scraps, and the baker would give us the stuff that got messed up, or got burnt a little, so he couldn't sell them."

He nudged her gently. "See? That sounds like loads of fun. I would have loved to have something like that. The only thing we swim in here is the ocean, and you get covered in sand and the salt water makes you sticky. Fresh water is way nicer. Gramps had some lakes, but we were never allowed to swim in it, though we did sneak in a few times. Ash never wanted to go in the chlorinated pool if he could help it. It was so annoying."

"Ash?" she asked, blinking at him.

"We were close growing up. I hung out with him a lot more than anyone else." He grinned a little to himself. "You know how he wasn't ever bright, though? I used to trick him into doing some stuff. I'd try to get him to ride pidgeys or wrestle with a charmeleon or something like that. He never got really hurt, though. I swear, the kid could punch an ursaring in the face and the _ursaring_ would apologize to him. The only pokémon I've ever seen him unable to manage was his Charizard."

"They're hard to handle," Misty said, crossing her arms and wondering why she'd bothered bringing up Ash in the first place.

"This one was abused, though, so that does help," Gary explained further. "He took it from this one jerk who-"

Her phone rang, and Misty answered it immediately, pausing only to apologize to Gary for the interruption, but gleeful for a chance to get away from talk of Ash. Unfortunately, picking up the phone entered her into a conversation with Dawn, who, despite the time difference in Sinnoh and the fact that it was surely four or five in the morning where she was, was eager and chirpy over the phone as she asked, "How was the train ride?"

"Fine. It didn't crash so it was just like always," Misty shrugged at Gary apologetically, who smiled her way and continued down the country roads, the trees beginning to thin into suburbs now. "You should see Pallet though. It's gorgeous! I never would have thought it, but it's so different from the city. The woods and the ocean and it's just this perfect little valley. It's right out of a fairy tale. You should see it."

"Yeah, yeah, but what did you do on the _train_?" Dawn asked, and she could practically see Dawn leaning forward, putting nearly no space between their faces as if that was somehow going to get Misty to confess any secrets she had.

"Was I _supposed_ to do something on the train?" Misty asked. Gary raised an eyebrow at her, and she mouthed 'Dawn' at him, so he nodded and focused on driving once more, that being more than enough explanation for anything strange that may have come up. "I just ate crackers and apple juice, like always."

"You should have been making out!" The blue haired girl insisted furiously. "You were on a beautiful, romantic tra-"

"Hold on!" Misty held up her free hand, though Dawn couldn't see it, and the girl thankfully fell silent. "I'm telling you about beautiful, romantic, _scenic_ Pallet Town and you want me to talk about making out?"

"It's not _wrong_," she retorted.

"Not, but it's like giving a nickel to a hobo. You could give less, but what the hell's he going to do with a nickel?"

"I have never thought of giving a nickel to a hobo as wrong."

"It's not wrong, but it isn't _right_."

"You don't make sense."

She sighed and put her head in her hand, trying to tune out the sound of Gary's snickers and trying not to blush at the fact that, maybe, if she hadn't been reading her book, Gary would have asked her to make out on the train, or, an even stranger thought, that he would think it was as not wrong and not right as she did. Finally, she managed to mutter through gritted teeth, "No, we didn't make out on the train."

"If we're not going to talk about that this conversation is over. And don't tell me about Pallet!" She could hear the smile and the wink in the girl's voice, sounding like pure exhilaration. "I want to see it for myself, okay?"

The rest of the ride was fairly boring. Gary turned on the radio, again with classical music, and Misty stared at the rolling landscape, enjoying watching it switch from the green and brown of forests, and the gold of cornfields, and the green of meadows, which then transitioned into a dirt road, which spun up dirt and dust behind them, covering the back of the car with brown that Gary must have to wash daily in order to keep it clean.

It wasn't really exciting until Gary pulled up to a mansion, with acres of clean cut grass and flowers on the perfectly groomed lawn, so that she had to stop and gawk at the size and splendor of it, and he blushed and unpacked the car while she gaped, doing everything he could to avoid her gaze. She only snapped out of it to grab her own suitcase, and follow him to the huge place, breathing, "You really live here?"

"Land in Pallet is cheaper than you think."

"It's not really the land I'm thinking about." She tilted her head back to catch a glimpse of the mansion one last time, before following him into beautiful tiled floors and a spectacular chandelier that made her stop and stare and drop her jaw in absolute wonder. "Gary, you have no idea how amazing your house is."

He groaned. "I'm really not trying to show off. I just wanted you to meet-"

"I know," Misty said, and kissed him gently on the cheek. "I know you're not showing off. You're lucky to live here, Gary, you shouldn't be ashamed of it anymore than someone who lives in a small house should. You were lucky to be born into this family. You should take advantage of everything it had to offer. It'd be stupid not to."

He smiled. "Thanks, Misty."

There was a clatter, and there was suddenly a woman who was thin and curvy, with long brown hair and bright green eyes and a face that even her sisters would be jealous of, who was able to run down the marble staircase in heels and fling her arms up around her taller brother with a laugh, crying, "You'll never believe it, Gary! I couldn't wait for you to come so I could tell you in person." Then stepped back to beam and declare, "Brendon and I are going to have a little girl in seven months."

He gawked and stared down at her stomach. "You're preg-"

"No," she said, smiling even wider. "We're adopting. You know how I always wanted to help out, and how I always volunteered everywhere and we're going to _adopt_! Can you believe it? Mom and Dad were ecstatic, they set it all up for us, even though, with Brendon being so big in contests and our family being, well, our family, there's a few press conferences, but they don't think the paparazzi will bother us at all after this."

"Congratulations, May," he said, hugging her lightly. Then stepped back and gestured at his girlfriend. "This is-"

"Misty of Cerulean City. Acting Gym Leader during summer breaks and candidate for Lorelei's replacement in the Elite Four. I know all about her." The woman held out her hand, and Misty nervously shook it, trying her best to smile. "Everyone is going to know all about you. We're the Oaks, Misty, if it has to do with pokémon, we know all about it. It's a bit unsettling at first, but you'll get used to it. Brendon sure did."

She winked at Gary. "So, I don't suppose this little lady needs her own room?"

"It's not like that May," he snapped. "It's serious."

She smiled slightly and nodded, seeming to lose a lot of her good humor. "Well, then. I guess I better go tell Darla to get a spare room ready."

* * *

Seriously though, WRITING GOD. The all caps is entirely necessary.


	13. Family Fight

****So...how long was I out for? A week? I'm assuming it's a week. It feels like a week.

* * *

**Family Fight**

Darla turned out to be the maid. She was old and tubby, with her hair graying and her mouth set in a permanent expression of "I don't care". Misty thanked her for setting up her room, having come in as Darla was swatting the bed comforters flat, and the woman simply looked her up and down, grunted, and walked out, but Gary promised her it was nothing personal. Misty didn't say much, and kicked him out of her room so she could unpack.

She didn't unpack, though. She shoved her suitcase in a corner and looked around the spacious room, with carpet soft and unbelievably white and fluffy, baby blue walls, a high ceiling, and an amazing bed. She fell back into it for a while, grinning to herself. It was bouncier than the school bed, with comforters so soft she couldn't stop her hands from running over them again and again, tangling her fingers in them, sliding her hands to the sheets and back out with happy sighs.

Though, adoring the bed only lasted so long, before she heard a knock on the door, and May Oak stepped in. The long, slender, pretty like her sisters May Oak, with thick brown hair and beautiful brown eyes that were tangled with little bits of gold and green, with soft features and a warm smile, who bounded over to the bed and crashed next to her. She grinned at Misty, who gave a nervous smile back, and hoped she would get along with the older girl.

"So, nice room, huh?" she asked, patting Misty's hand. "It's kind of out of the way, like most of the guest bedrooms, but, you know, with you loving water, I thought the blue motif might be nice. The bathroom, just down the hall, that one's ocean themed, so you might like that too. Especially the part where you get your own bathroom."

She shook her head. "I actually already have a bathroom to myself. I lucked out and didn't get a roommate this year. But the bed's really nice. Better than the cots we have back at the school."

"I know. I hated those cots," she said sincerely. "I knew your sisters. We went to school around the same time. I mean, they're still a little older, but I knew them. I still keep in contact with them, those not as much as I'd lie. They're doing okay, aren't they?"

"Oh, yeah. They're great. Gym's doing fine, though we're a little short on cash. Daisy's got a boyfriend, and I think Violet's getting one too. I mean, she's sort of dating this guy, but they're not very close. I'm sure they'd love to hear from you if you called them up."

May nodded, then ran her hands through her hair with a long sigh. "So, do you have something fancy to get dressed up in? If you don't, I'll buy you a dress, I don't mind. I'm sure Gary totally forgot to tell you that we're having…it's sort of a party, but it's mostly a meet and greet. Really calm, boring old people music, some people from around the neighborhood, family friends, business partners, you know how it goes. You're going into the League, I'm sure you've heard all the stories from Lance. He hates all the formal stuff."

"Not really. Is there a lot?"

"Of course there's a lot! The League, before anything else, is a _big _business. It's not a friendly little home business, where you just treat everyone like a neighbor and give discounts to people who need it and stuff like that. You play business games. They suck, really suck, but that's the way it goes. It's how you keep your big business a big business. Just boring formalities and number crunching and asking for permission to do something more than you ever actually do anything. I've fallen asleep at some of those meetings, I swear."

Misty smiled weakly, asking, "Didn't you say I needed a dress for a party?"

"Hmm? Oh!" Her eyes lit up. "Oh, yeah, you do. You do need something for the party. A really nice dress. Do you have a really nice dress? It doesn't need to be floor length, if you have a pretty dress that isn't, but floor length is definitely best. Maybe a little larger on you, and we can get you heels, and then it'll be really pretty, flowing just above the floor, don't you think? I think you'd look pretty in white, and it is fancy. These people love white."

The redhead pointed to her suitcase, her mind still bubbling with the forgotten concept that the League wasn't just battling, but paperwork and politics and long, boring hours in an office before she would get to battle and travel the way she had expected to. "I've got a black dress. It's about mid calf, not floor length, but still pretty long. I've got nice black shoes I can wear with it and everything. That'll be good, won't it?"

"Lemme see."

Misty did, with May's eyes watching her every move with an enthusiasm for dresses she hadn't seen before. She shrugged on the dress like May asked her too, uncomfortable stripping down in front of the girl but not enough to decline, and smoothed is along her form. It was fairly tight, but it stretched enough so it was comfy, and May gushed over it happily, saying that it was perfect and tugging at it so it would lay perfect, then babbling on about what make up would be perfect for it.

She listened as best she could and made polite conversation, until she was finally able to convince May to leave and able to slip back into normal clothes to explore the mansion. She didn't have a clue how big it was, or how long she wandered around, but it had wings and more rooms than she thought a house could possibly need, though most were locked up. She found that the family's rooms were on the other side of the house, and what she assumed were the live in servants were a floor down, somewhere in the middle.

There was an attic, which was dusty and loaded with decorations for the year, and found a basement, which also had rooms but seemed to be fully furnished, having one room exclusively for a television that nearly covered the wall, and another that was filled with classic arcade games, most of which were unplugged, but one had a man playing who jumped when she came in and began dusting, and she imagined she had caught someone slacking off at the job and giggled.

Surprisingly, she didn't see Gary for a large portion of the day. It wasn't until dinner that she managed to find herself in the kitchen, and a servant was kind enough to escort her into the dining hall, where Gary had made sure she had a place to sit next to him. The table was big as far as she was concerned, but Gary spent the meal, which on he, May, and Misty were attending, that this was the small table.

"You'll see the big one when we have the party tomorrow," May said, pushing her mashed potatoes around her plate. "I think you'll see our parents, and Gramps too. Gramps is up at the lab today, right? He'll come down tonight or tomorrow?"

"Tonight," Gary said, then grinned at Misty. "You'll get to meet the great Professor Oak tomorrow, Misty. Are you excited?"

She beamed. "How couldn't I be? Is he nice?"

"Gramps is amazing," May burst, though Gary had been opening his mouth to explain. "He loves answering questions, too. I mean it. When he comes over, quiz him nonstop, he'll answer everything without even blinking! It's so cool, and he never gets tired of it. He's a true Oak, we love showing off."

Gary agreed, "You really should quiz him. He loves it. He likes it when people take an interest in his research. Thankfully, he's studying some psychic phenomenon now. Last winter he was studying breeding. Hours and hours of pokémon sex."

Misty's fork clattered to her plate as her hands came up to her mouth, desperately trying to keep her laughter inside, while Gary smirked, and May gave an elegant laugh. The younger girl's face flushed, and she picked her fork back up, staring at her plate and shoving food into her mouth as quick as she could. Her mind swirled for a moment at hearing May's laugh, and seeing Gary's smirk, and feeling utterly out of place knowing that they were both enjoying her response to Gary's joke far more than the joke itself.

She practically sprinted up the stairs after giving Gary a quick kiss goodnight, vanishing into her room. She had a book with her, somewhere in her bag, and read until she fell asleep that night, not remembering to mark her page or the page number or, really, anything she read that night when she woke up the next morning. She was far too nervous to, anyway, with discovering that she was going to meet Gary's parents and grandfather soon.

(PAGEBREAK)

"Misty Yawa. Your presence is requested in the dining room."

There was a quiet knocking on her door, and a glance at her cell phone told her she had slept in later than she wanted, with the time being somewhere around ten thirty. She pushed her comforters aside and opened the door, having slept in her clothes from the day before, not worrying about who would be on the other side. It was Darla, not that she was especially surprised considering how she had been called up.

"Who's requesting my presence?" she asked, yawning and rubbing her eyes sleepily.

Darla gave a disapproving, long look up and down the girl, shaking her head slowly at the idea that the girl had dared slept in late, but spoke nevertheless: "Gary Oak, and the Doctors Oak as well."

Misty blinked in surprise. "_Both _his parents are doctors? As in, Dr. Oak? They got a degree from school and everything?"

"I know what doctors are, ma'am," Darla said coldly. "And I would assume that the Doctors Oak both gained their degrees in perfectly normal fashions, and have well earned their titles. I would hope you'll use them. It's a sign of disrespect to simply call them mister or missus."

The words made her temper flare, and she wanted to snap at the old woman. She bit her lip, literally putting it between her teeth and putting as much pressure as she was willing. The pain steadied her mind, and she nodded mutely, shutting the door and going to make herself look nice. She shaved and bathed and put on a decent looking dress, before realizing that, though the house was warm, it was freezing outside, and pulling on a pair of leggings as well.

She raced down the stairs, only to realize she didn't have a clue where the dining room was, despite the fact that she had been there a couple times already. She felt for a pocket to pull out her phone, and remembered she didn't have a pocket, and had left her phone in the room. At a loss of what to do, she decided to wander around the house, hoping to run into the right room or some person who could guide her to the right place.

It was the dining room she found first, and fairly quickly, and the whole family had sat down to eat. The breakfast seemed heavy and smelled wonderful, but Gary's parents, Gary, and May had stopped eating to welcome her, while an old man she assumed was Professor Oak continued to feast on fresh berries and pancakes, looking up for only a moment to say hello and cast her a smile. The parents had actually stood up, the mother standing quietly behind the father who had extended his hand for Misty to shake.

She minded her manners and shook the hand, trying to keep eye contact though she could feel a bit of a blush crawling up her cheeks as her heart pounded nervously. But both the Oaks seemed kind, and as she sat to eat, with Gary pulling out her chair and pushing it in for her (something he had never done before, and something she assumed he would only do in his parents' presence) and her taking small, lady like bites, and putting a single pancake and a heap of bluberries and strawberries on her plate.

"Gary's told us so much about you," Mrs. Oak said after dotting at her face with a napkin. She folded it calmly and set it down in her lap, smiling at Misty, who instantly set down her fork and folded her hands in her lap. "I have to say, you seem like a very accomplished young lady. You do so well in school, and you have extracurriculars as well! To get those kinds of grades I had to lock myself up all day to study."

Misty looked back and forth between the parents and her boyfriend, wondering what he had told them, then smiled as best she could. "Um, extracurricuars?"

"I think she means tutoring Ash, and swimming," Mr. Oak explained with a smile. "We know the Ketchums, and Ash had been a dear friend of Gary's since a very young age. We know all about that boy, and we applaud you for taking up such a challenge. Arceus knows that Gary tried teaching that boy a time or two, but he never seemed to pick anything up. Hell of a good battler though. Gary always managed to win, but the boy is a damn fine battler, and has some incredible strategies up his sleeve."

She sincerely doubted that any of the matches had been especially fair, considering that Gary probably had quite a supply of incredible pokemon behind him, not to mention all the resources he could ever need to back them up, though she wasn't surprised that Gary had always won, considering how Ash barely pulled off decent grades in his battle related classes as it was. However, hearing that Gary had taught Ash once or twice did make her eyebrows raise and she turned to look at him, wondering exactly how dedicated he had been to teaching him.

Gary flushed almost immediately. "Dad, I told you I wasn't always the best tutor."

"Nonsense, Gary, I'm sure you did your best." Mr. Oak laughed. "As you've probably seen, the boy is very slow. Not mentally deficient or anything, certainly not, but not quick with the books."

"I disagree." The words had shot from her mouth before she could stop them, and, for some reason, she couldn't bring herself to pull them back, not as she made hard eye contact with Gary's father. "He needs a bit of attention, just things explained a different way. Sure, his memorization is terrible, but he's not stupid. He'll never be a genius, but it doesn't mean he's stupid. And there's nothing wrong with having average intelligence. He has other skills, things that schools don't really test on."

"Oh, we're not saying there's anything wrong with that, dear!" Mrs. Oak exclaimed, leaning forward across the table, one hand over her husband's. "The boy is delightful, wonderful, really. I love having him over. As we've said, he's quite the battler. After all, he was handpicked by Lance, and that's just amazing. It is truly amazing, isn't it?" She shot a glance at her husband, who nodded, and continued, "May used to have quite the crush on him when she was younger. I half thought she'd marry the boy."

"Mother!" May shouted, dropping her fork to the ground. Whipped cream splattered across the carpet, and Misty stared at it, unable to look at the argument about to unfold.

But the explosion Misty was sure was about to come did not, instead it was quiet, as Mrs. Oak looked at her daughter with a tender innocence. "Oh, darling, aren't you a little old to be embarrassed?"

May stood up, glaring. "Mother, may I speak with you outside for a moment?"

"Don't be rash, May, we have a guest."

"And you don't want that guest hearing what I have to say, trust me on that." May's eyes narrowed, and Misty's breath caught as she began to worry that she was somehow the cause of the argument. "Unless you want me to discuss my relationship with Ash in great detail in front of Gary's new Elite Four protojay of Lorelei girlfriend."

Mrs. Oak frowned and got to her feet. "May, dear, this really isn't the time or the place to discuss this, but if you insist I won't be rude to our guest. I will step outside with you but you really should-"

May stormed into the hallway, and Mrs. Oak followed, a scowl now on her face, and the room grew quiet as they turned back to their breakfast. Misty stared quietly at her plate, wanting to say something but having no clue as to what that something should be. when, suddenly, there was a loud clatter of a fork on a plate and Professor oak was looking at his son, frowning as well.

"I told you this would happen."

"Dad, don't," Mrs. Oak rumbled, "we have a guest."

"How long have I been saying this?" The old man pointed dramatically at his son. "You controlled her too much, she didn't have enough freedom, and she's going to turn around and snap at you. Give Gary a few more years and you'll have the same problem."

Mr. Oak looked at his son and nodded sharply, who immediately stood up and pulled Misty from the room, gripping her wrist tightly as she stumbled along after him, until the doors were shut behind them and the argument between Professor and Mr. Oak had faded away, and Mrs. Oak and May were out through the other exit in the kitchen. Then she ripped her arm from him and spun to face him, feeling her heart thumping wildly as she stared up at the boy who looked almost ashamed.

"That wasn't because of me, was it?" she asked, swallowing deeply. "If it was I…I'm sorry. I don't know what I did."

"No!" He said, eyes wide. "No! It wasn't you. That's just…it's embarrassing. My sister has been out of control lately, and I don't know why. She yells at my mom and challenges my parents every time they ask her to do anything. She never used to be that way, and suddenly she's just constantly acting like some sort of spoiled brat."

She shrugged, relieved it wasn't her. "Everyone's family argues."

"Not us," he said sharply. "Not until lately."

She shook her head. "Really, Gary, as long as I wasn't the cause of the argument, it's not a big deal! My family argues like crazy, everyone's family does. I mean, it's nothing to be ashamed of. You're teenagers. Isn't that just what teenagers do? Argue with their parents, do stupid rebellious stuff, get in trouble and learn lessons? Like...hiding in a bush is a bad idea." She laughed and took Gary's hand in her own, trying to prompt him to smile, but he simply continued to glare at the floor, shaking his head.

"I'm just...I'm sorry." He kissed her once, just a peck on the lips, and led her to the front door. "Come on, we'll go out to a movie. By the time we come back, everything will be settled, and you can really meet my family, how they usually are."

And so it went.

* * *

And, uh, last chapter I said WRITING GOD? That was silly. WRITING GODDESS. I'm female after all. With female parts. And a love of Tinkerbell.


	14. Winter Solstice

Wow, these weeks really stretch, huh? Feels like a month. I've had LOADS psychology classes that are once a week, so you'd think it'd be at least a long while, but let's not let math hold us back. It's been a long week. And I've been busy building zoos in Zoo Tycoon 2. I saved those creatures from smuggling rings. It was important.

In all honesty, I have been having a very hard time lately with my OCD, and haven't had many ways to help myself. Hopefully, I can get it straightened out soon, and I'll write a little more regularly.

* * *

Winter Solstice

Like most in Kanto, Misty identified her religion as pokeist. Also like most in Kanto, aside from her own house and a kindling of spirituality, she has no idea how the religion worked or where it came from. As far as she could tell there was Arceus, the creator, who's followers all lived in Sinnoh and were the closest thing the rest of the churches had as an authority. From there branched numerous houses, all of which concentrated on one specific Legendary that emphasized a particular value, and all of whom considered their value to be the best, which caused a few small wars and an awful lot of arguing.

Misty was in the House of Moltres, which passion.

"Don't you guys celebrate with, uh," Gary arched a teasing eyebrow her way, and Misty barely resisted the urge to punch his face in.

"Despite popular misconceptions, passion is not lust," she explained calmly, crossing her arms. "I have a passion for swimming, and that has nothing to do with lust. To remember how empty my life would be without passion, I would sacrifice the things I'm passionate about for three weeks." She grinned, letting her arms fall to her side and shrugging. "Well, I'm supposed to. I don't follow the traditions very well. I'd get out of shape if I didn't swim for three weeks straight. I usually just give up chocolate or something silly like that."

"Do people give up sex?" he asked.

"No!' she exclaimed, eyes wide. 'Why would they?"

He laughed at her shock. "Isn't that passion?"

"Of course it's passion! It should be the ultimate show of passion." She clasped her hands over her heart, obviously passionate about the subject of passion. "To express you love and devotions and trust, to be so in love with a person that you expose yourself to another being, and that this act could create life. You don't give it up! It's far too important to pass up for three weeks!"

He laughed, taking her hand gently in his. "See, this is why you guys have that reputation. You hold sex too high."

"Sex is an expression of passion," she said, reddening slightly at her outburst. "If you have no passion, no drive, life is meaningless."

He smirked, starting, "That's so-"

"Beautiful and spiritual," she snapped, tugging her hand out of his once more and crossing her arms furiously over her chest. "What does your house emphasize that's so wonderful?"

"House of Zapdos. Strength."

Misty scoffed. "So, what do you do to show that? Throw boulders?"

"Competitions."

She smirked his way, nudging her with her crossed arms. "I bet you've got a few medals, Mr. Oak."

He smiled. "Two gold."

Her eyes widened and she whistled in astonishment, imagining that the competitions he had taken place in must have had large groups of people, considering how there were only four of five houses in Kanto, and each church was stuffed to the brim."'How many times did you place? Did you melt them down into a silver toilet seat?"

"There's only first place. You win or you lose, no matter how many you're up against. There's no silver or bronze, or even ribbons. You don't congratulate people who come in second or lower. The little kids usually end up crying after the competitions, and then we have to have a long, boring sermon all about how competing was its own reward and their effort was valiant and then we'd all go for cakes and snacks." Gary shrugged. "Most people go their whole lives without a medal."

Misty frowned. "How does that represent strength?"

"To always try, even when you lose, I guess." He looked at her for a long time, taking her hand once more, squeezing softly. She looked away long before he did, because it seemed like he was evaluating her, as if he was making sure she was worthy to hear what he was about to say. "We used to be the house of power. Things got out of control and...it changed, what we said, but all the traditions are the same.

"So those..." she began carefully, "Those competitions symbolize power."

"You have power over others or you don't. You win or you lose." He swung their hands gently back and forth, an she looked down at where their hands met, too nervous to look at his face. "They should have just stuck with power. Changing the name didn't change anything. Every year they protest the House of Arceus to change it back."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to change the tradition? If they led to things getting out of control?"

"They don't change traditions. They're traditional." He shrugged, then smiled slightly and joked, "I'm glad you like my family. I mean, I can't stand them, but it's good they've found someone they can talk to."

She laughed lightly, her eyes still on their locked hands, before biting on her lower lip in worry and thought.

He bumped her hip playfully. "So, I think it went well. Gramps really likes you."

She smiled hesitantly. "Good, I really like him too. He's a sweet guy, smart too." She laughed. "I couldn't stump him on _any_thing."

"He discovered half the trivia you asked him, of course you couldn't stump him. You'll never have a chance."

She twirled in front of him, pressing her chest against his. "Not unless I discover something first. Though you'll have better luck, you and your family of researchers. I have to say I'm jealous, Mr. Oak."

"Jealous of my family? I'd rather have your sisters than mine. I'll trade. Yours is prettier."

"Your sister is beautiful, mine are hot. You've got Juliet up there," she argued.

He spun her around, hugging her from behind as he pushed her forward down the dirt path. "I don't think so, but you can't find someone attractive after fighting them for the bathroom every morning."

"I know what you mean. Four girls, one bathroom, not the best arrangement ever made." She blinked. "Hey, Gary, where are we walking?"

"To a house," he said.

"What house?"

"_A_ house."

"Gary, where are we going?" She said, planting her feet and putting her hands on her hips. "I don't do surprises. Tell me what's going on. I'm not moving from this spot and I swear to Arceus I'll stand here and talk about shopping and boys and chocolate for hours unless you say."

He sighed, holding up his hands in surrender. "Fine. Fine We're going to Ash's house. They're family friends, house of Celebi, and one of their major holidays is today. We're giving them a quick hug, hello, and heading home."

"I don't _want_ to see Ash. I _hate_ Ash," she spat, grinding her feet into the dirt and bracing herself, as if she expected him to grab her and drag her the rest of the way.

He sighed again. "You can go back if you want, but we have dinner with them tonight anyway. I thought it'd be easier if you got it over now."

"Why didn't you tell me before?" she snapped.

"Because I knew you'd freak!"

"Great deduction, Sherlock! I guess you get an A for that!"

"Would you come on?"

"No!" She planted her feet. "And there's no way I'm seeing Ash at all!"

Gary held his hands up in surrender. "If you really don't want to come, fine. Go back to the house. But I'm not giving you directions on how to get back or saving your from May if she wants to give you a makeover. if you come with me, you'll probably get some kind of snack and get to meet the always kind Mrs. Ketchum."

"But I'll also have to see Mr. Ketchum," Misty growled.

"Misty, there isn't a Mr. Ketchum."

She glared. "I know there's not! I've spent enough time with him! I was _talking _about Ash, not...I just don't want to see Ash. I deal with him enough as it is in school! I see him almost every single day, and I finally get my break. I finally get to come here, and what happens? I end up running into that idiot again!"

Gary ran his hands through his hair. "Ash looks up to you."

"I don't care."

"Misty, be reasonable."

"Maybe I'd be a little more willing to compromise if you hadn't lied! You said we were going for a walk!" She shoved his shoulder roughly, taking a step forward for every step back Gary took. "Instead you treat me like...like some annoying brat who needs to be tricked into going to the doctor! I'm pretty close to being all grown up, Gary. I've been taking care of myself for a long time, not to mention the fact that I haven't had parents watching over me and sending more money than I can handle my way! I think I'm old enough to make my own decisions, don't you?"

"That wasn't what it was about," Gary protested. He reached for her hand and she slapped it away viciously. "Misty, i just wanted you to come along, and I didn't think you would if I told-"

"If we're in a relationship, you should respect me enough to _ask_! I mean, compromise, make a deal! I'll...I'll go see Ash with you if you'll...I don't know, take me fishing! That's how people get along! You don't...just...lie and trick the other person into doing what you want. Doesn't that make sense to you? Doesn't that seem like a rule you should follow in order to have a stable relationship?"

He grabbed her shoulders, far to gentle to keep a hold on her, and shook him off. He tried again, only to have the same reaction, which only served to make her angrier, that even know he was treating her like she was fragile, like she couldn't handle being _grabbed_ or being _yelled _at when she was yelling and grabbing, and if something wound her up a little more she was going to start kicking and punching, and she bet even then he wouldn't try to defend herself. So, before she got to the point, she turned and started marching back the way she had came.

"Misty, please," he said, grabbing her hand, a bit tighter than before, enough so that she couldn't immediately snap out of his grasp, so she stopped. "What I did was wrong. And I'm sorry. Just, please...do me that favor of coming with me to Ash's house, and I'll do anything to make it up to you. I won't lie to you anymore or...trick you into doing stuff, alright? Just come with me."

Misty breathed deep, shoving her hands deep into her pockets, tugging her hand out of his grasp to do so, and turned around, walking past him slowly. Three times he attempted to put his arms around her shoulders, and each time she shoved him off. Six times he tried to start a conversation, with no response from her, until she turned and glared at him with eyes so cold, he swallowed down his words and walked silently to the Ketchum's house. They walked by quite a few houses, all of them like the Ketchum's, a small country cottage with vegetable gardens wrapping around the small yard, behind the white picket fence.

Gary knocked on the door, and it was Ash who answered, leaning on the doorframe and smirking at the redhead.

"Hey Misty, what are you doing in Pallet?"

Understandably not in the mood, she whispered (not wanting his mother to hear if she happened to be nearby), "Die. Slowly."

"Oh, wow, I guess I forgot to mention that we come over to Gary's on the ninth every year and have a really nice dinner, since we're so close to the Oaks and all. I come from a really long line of trainers who all got their starters from the Oaks and usually kept close contact, giving them pokémon to study. What a coincidence. Must have slipped my mind. You'd figure I would have mentioned it _once_." Ash grinned as she seemed to grow more horrified by the news that this would not be the last time she saw him this break.

She snarled, "I hope you become very dedicated to your religion, because your spiritual leaders are castrated to prove their commitment."

"You're from the House of Moltres, which, going by _your _traditions, basically means that you're a whore. Sorry." He waved merrily and walked off into the house, closing the door behind him with a short, "Mom's not home, Gary. We'll just see you at the party," leaving the two on a pointless trip, angry at one another, fuming on the porch.

She smacked him. "What's wrong with you?"

"What?" he whispered.

"He basically called me a whore!"

"You hope he'll be castrated!" he hissed back. "And what am I supposed to do, tackle him now?"

"I would have liked some backing, at least verbally."

"Sorry."

"You're not even going to _fight _about it? Why don't you just _fight_? Treat me like a person, Gary. Moltres." She punched his shoulder, and refused to talk to him the rest of the way back.

* * *

Gary did his very best to make up for the fight, though he still wasn't entirely sure why they were fighting, or if they were still fighting. He took her swimming and golfing, showed her around the Professor's ranch, making sure every moment was filled with smiles and romance and sweetness, though Misty always seemed far more focused on the activities than she ever did on Gary. She did somewhat participate in romantic activities, smiling, or holding his hand, occasionally saying something sweet in return, but she never initiated anything, and she never extended it. More often not, Gary found himself wondering if he had somehow angered her _again_.

It wasn't. It was just _that one thing._ That was what Misty told him when he asked. _I didn't like that one thing_. Well, what the hell did that mean? How did he apologize for it? How did he make up for it? And, frustratingly, the answer always came back, _I don't know. It was just that one thing. It's not a big deal._ Which was a _lie _as far as Gary was concerned, because if it was just that one thing, and that one thing wasn't a big deal, why was she acting so cold? And why didn't they kiss that much anymore? And why was she always so angry at him?

He didn't ask any of these questions. He knew that girls were sensitive about such things, and that this would only infuriate Misty further. The concept that getting into an argument with her might have been good for the relationship, or even necessary never crossed his mind. He simply gritted his teeth and gave flowers and chocolates, waiting for the rough patch to smooth over. He figured as long as he treated her like a princess, with gifts and sweet words and sweet romantic nothings, she would eventually get over whatever was wrong.

Of course, this seemed to have no impact on May Oak, who giddily took Misty aside as if the girl would already part of the family. One day involved dress shopping, in which May pointed out the most spectacular dresses in the shop, and told Misty to never look at the price tags, because it was _her _treat after all. Misty could hardly stand dress shopping. There were days that she loved it usually when it was with close friends, or, if the conditions were perfect, her sisters. She hardly knew May Oak, and wasn't comfortable in the rows of expensive dresses and snobby shopkeepers.

The second May got a phone call, Misty stripped out of a clinging green dress, which was once again too tight around her shoulders, because the muscles from swimming were larger than most (which always made those snobby shopkeepers smirk a little and say, "Well, we could adjust it, but going a size bigger would definitely be more flattering to your figure"). Every dress had been tight, almost rubbing her skin raw, because she didn't have the curves her sisters or Gary's sister had, and those shop girls were doing their best to make it look like she did.

A quick dial on the phone had Gary at the store in an instant, and they drove away to a department store, where Misty snagged a dress in a style she knew well, dark blue, and sleeveless so she didn't have to worry about it fitting right. She shoved it in the back, flashing Gary the color and stumbling over the words to describe it. In the end, she managed to say, "It's got, like, a beltish thing. It's got three rose things on the front soon. And the skirt is sort of rumply, I guess. I dunno, you'll see." The boy said it'd look nice, and Misty bit her tongue, wanting to scream that he was just saying that, and that she hadn't even come close to describing it.

It took her far longer than she planned to actually dress for the party. May came and knocked on her door again and again, but every time Misty promised her that she was feeling just fine, and that she wanted to look perfect. That wasn't true. She put on makeup, then rubbed it off until her face was red and paced around the room wondering why she was so angry with Gary, when the boy hadn't really done anything that bad, and why on earth she wasn't thrilled that his family liked her. Then she would repeat the process, until about thirty minutes until the party was to start.

Then she hectically swept mascara and bush and eye shadow on, putting a little bit of lipstick on that she was sure wouldn't be rubbed off from eating. Then she brushed her hair so it settled around her face in just the right way, when she realized she was standing half naked, not yet having pulled her dress on, which was going to have to go on over her head and was most certainly going to mess up her hair. Cursing furiously, she tugged the midnight blue dress over her head and fixed her hair once more.

Giving herself a once over in the mirror, she decided she looked nice and slipped on a pair of black flats before heading out to the main hall, where she was fairly sure the solstice party was being held. She didn't even make it to the s before she froze, seeing the main room decorated, not with streamers and balloons, but with ice sculptures and roses and with men in tuxedos and women in beautiful floor length dresses so unlike hers that only fell to her knees, and waiters with trays of champagne and appetizers.

She went down the staircase as discretely as she could, and was grabbed at the bottom and dragged into the shadows with a very quiet squeak. Someone pushed something warm in a cupcake paper and a napkin into her hand, and she immediately dug in, having not had lunch that day. A wonderful taste filled her mouth, and she bate the rest of it, only looking up when she was wiping her mouth. She froze upon doing so, seeing Ash Ketchum there in a tuxedo, looking not just cute, but handsome.

"Holy shi-"

"You make no comment about the tux. I don't say anything about the dress. Tonight never happened. We don't talk. We don't look at each other. We are strangers tonight who dont care about meeting one another," Ash said quickly. "That's a savory cheesecake. It's the best thing they have here. The waiter who has it is the only blonde guy here. This is the exchange for you never, ever, ever, ever, ever in a million years telling anyone about me walking around in a tux and dancing with girls and being courted to high society people."

She swallowed thickly. "You're not high society. No way in hell are you-"

"No. I'm poor, Mist." He tugged her against the wall as a group of giggling girls passed, then let her go, rushing on, "I'm not dirt poor. I mean, lower middle class, I think. But my family and the Oak's have been together a real long time. I have to come to all these sorts of things. And Mom knows I hate it, but she just says that, well, if I do become a pokemon master, I'll have to learn all this stupid stuff anyway, so it can't hurt to learn it now. So...so I'm going to _act _like Gary tonight. So don't tell anyone."

"Acting like Gary?" she asked confusedly. "What do you-?"

"I have to say, miss, your dress looks absolutely lovely tonight. Would you like to have this dance?" He smiled so sweet that Misty couldn't do anything but stare, half because she couldn't believe that Ash Ketchum apparently knew how to be a charming gentleman when pressured, and half because of how clear it was that every one of those formal words were killing him, and how his whole body seemed to be vibrating with the need to rip of the tuxedo and run out to the battlefield.

"People buy that?"

"All the time." He looked around quickly, then his eyes widened. He grabbed her hand, giving it a terrified squeeze. "Can you forget everything I said for five minutes and pretend to be dating me?"

"No!" she snapped, tugging her hand out. "If you don't like a girl, just say something."

"But she wants to _marry_ me!" he moaned desperately.

"Ash, don't be ridiculous, we're kids." She pushed his shoulder roughly. "Maybe she wants to date you. I'm sure she doesn't have wedding planners lying around the house, cutting up pictures of both of you and combining them with crazy glue. Just tell the crazy girl you're not interested like a big boy. I take care of your school stuff. You need another tutor for your personal life."

He grabbed her hand again, but she twisted out of it. "But this is different. Lance _picked _me, Misty. I'm going to be a pokemon master. They all want to marry me and have me as a trophy husband. Or them as a trophy wife. I don't know how it works, I just know that they try and kiss me and I really hate it when they come out of nowhere and try to force kisses on me and stuff and _please _just pretend to be my girlfriend Misty and I'll leave you alone for the rest of the night."

Misty followed his gaze to the pretty black haired girl walking towards them, all pretty red gown and full curves and heavy makeup, and sighed, "Put your left thumb horizontal across your lips." He did as she said, and she pushed him against the wall, bringing her lips to his thumb, and hoping that this combined with her hair falling over her face would make a convincing looking kiss. She held the pose for a couple seconds, noting that his lips also tasted of the savory cheesecake he'd given her, and that he was wearing cologne - an idea which was so outrageous to her, she almost giggled.

Then she pulled away, looked to see that the girl was gone, and sighed in relief. "You'll leave me alone?"

He gawked at her. "_Gary_."

"What about him?" She looked around calmly, half expected him to appear, then blinked as she realized what he meant. "I didn't _kiss_ you, idiot."

"But it looked like you did!" he argued.

"So what if it looked like it? It's not what it looks like that matters, it's what I did."

"Tell that to anyone else at the party," he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Thanks for that, Mist. And, do me a favor, if you see a woman in a white dress with black flowers on it, with brown hair, don't talk to her. Just, I mean...just go the other way, okay?"

She leaned against the wall, frowning. "You're welcome. And don't call me Mist."

He started to walk away, then paused, glancing at her. "And you won't see the wo-"

"Go away!"

She let him scurry off, and took to prowling around the party room. She grabbed things off every tray that passed, all except the drinks, and followed the waiters who had the best treats. She found, grudgingly, that Ash had been right about the savory cheesecake being the best on the floor, and ate a meal's worth of them before realizing she wasn't certain if any kind of dinner came with the party. It wasn't long before she had taking one of the bubbly drinks, which one sip assured her was nonalcoholic, and walked absentmindedly around, thinking about her classes as she weaved in and out of the crowd.

Misty did glance several people. She saw Professor Oak with a couple other intelligent looking people, one of them she could identify as Professor Elm, and judging by their scientific sounding talk the group of them were all researchers. She saw Mrs. Oak, laughing and smiling and surrounded by a group of women who were talking about finances. The numbers were overwhelming, and after a few seconds of hearing that she swerved off and saw Mr. Oak, who was talking about a recent League battle. She listened to that one for a while. Misty could understand their talks of strategy, even though she wasn't sure enough and she hadn't seen the match, so she wasn't willing to jump in.

Gary was there. He looked outstanding in his tux, filling it out perfect, his hair in perfect place. He was with a group of boys, including Ash. He looked natural and right, perfectly talking and laughing and blending in with the group. Ash's smile looked strained, and he rarely talked, and from her corner, she kept her eyed trainer on him. She couldn't quite explain her fascination with Ash, because Gary was without a doubt more pleasing to look at, but she supposed it was comical, like dressing up a mankey and sending it to the opera. He quite clearly didn't belong, and anyone who paid attention could have seen it.

Her head rested curiously on the stair's railing. No one seemed to notice, though. As long as he was saying the right things, and was standing the right way, and striking all the right poses, they didn't seem to care. They treated ash like he was Gary. He wasn't, though. Ash couldn't flirt like Gary, and he wouldn't have done those romantic things with her that Gary had been doing. Ash probably would have tactlessly punched someone for insulting his girlfriend, which was definitely not the right way to go about things. And he would probably argue with her all the time. Gary was perfect. Ash was unbelievably flawed.

"Pardon," came a quiet voice behind her, touching her shoulder.

Misty spun around, finding herself turning red for some reason. The woman in front of her was the one Ash had described, in the white dress with black flowers and long brown hair that trailed down her back. She had warm eyes and a kind smile and looked a lot older than Misty thought any girl Ash would warn her about would. She assumed the one Ash talked about would be her age. This woman was probably in her late twenties, maybe older if she looked younger than she really was, and certainly didn't seem dangerous or frightening.

"S-sorry," Misty stuttered, brushing her hair out of her face and trying to stop her heart from pounding. "Did you need something? I didn't mean to block the stairs."

The woman smiled, and held out her hand. "You're Misty, aren't you? I'm Ash's mother. It's nice to meet you."

"You too," she said politely, shaking her hand. Now her heart had stopped beating, and Misty's mind raced as she realized Ash had probably given her the warning as a nice gesture. He had probably told his mother all sorts of terrible things about her, and she wouldn't be surprised if Mrs. Ketchum asked for a word outside and pounding her into the mud. She came up with the best excuse she could: "I don't know if Ash has told you anything about me, but they were probably jokes. You know Ash, always a joker."

She waved her hand, laughing. "You stalked him in the bushes, want a new bike, and have a love-hate relationship with him. Don't worry, you're teaching him well and you seem to be a pretty decent friend for him." She smiled and shook her head, eyes roaming up and down Misty's body. Not sexually, but in a motherly way, like the same way Daisy looked her over before sending her out to the store to run a few grocery errands. "Though, I am surprised. You're not quite what I pictured."

"Pardon?"

"Well, Ash never could describe how people looked, but I've seen your sisters on the internet and TV." She shrugged. "They're very sexy. I was expecting a girl more like them."

"Yeah." She grinned awkwardly, and rubbed the back of her neck for a moment before realizing that _that was Ash's gesture_ and stopping it immediately. "I tend to let a lot of people down that way."

"Oh, I'm not let down. It's just that you…" She hesitated, her eyes turning up at the ceiling, thinking. Then she snapped her fingers happily. "You're pretty like May."

"May Oak?" Misty asked, glancing around the room, and catching a glimpse of the girl in a swarm of boys, clearly being offered drinks. She laughed, shaking her head. "But she's nothing like me. She's much-" She stopped herself, not wanting to whine about not being as pretty, especially since this woman who seemed to know all the society rules (and was following them fairly well, all things considered), would simply insist on how pretty she was if she denied it anyway, and make it look like she was fishing for compliments. She ended lamely: "-taller than I am."

"You're look taller than her, actually," Mrs. Ketchum said, smiling. "And as for prettier, you'll come into your own I'm sure. Not that it matters either way, you're just fine the way you are now. You're as lovely as Ash described."

Unable to stop herself, she gasped, "I've been nothing but nice to you!"

"Mmm-hmm," she chuckled. "Just as he described."

Misty flushed awkwardly. "Well, I...it's a pleasure to-"

"A pleasure to meet you, Misty. Come over any time, and I'll be happy to share a meal with you." She looked over at May as well, who seemed to be untangling herself from her mob of boys as elegantly as possible (far more elegantly than Misty thought one could be) and heading their way. "For now, I'll have to let you go. It looks like your host wants a words with you."

"Thank you for the invitation!" Misty blurted as the woman walked away, and found herself being tugged up the stairs by May as Mrs. Ketchum vanished into the party.

"Come here, kiddo," May said, tugging Misty into her bedroom. With a flick of her wrist the door was locked and she was leaning against it, blocking any chance Misty had of getting out, not that she was quite eager to leave, considering she really wanted an explanation. "What I'm about to tell you is for your safety, for your happiness, and you're probably not going to pay any attention to me, but it doesn't matter. Misty, I don't want you in the same trap Derek got into. You're better than that. Gramps isn't as bad, but Father is ridiculous."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, rubbing her temples. "What the hell is going on tonight?"

She grabbed her arms, holding her firmly, but not enough to hurt. "My brother. Break up with him now before it's too late, and it's going to be too late real soon, so you'd better figure out that you have a future and a life and you deserve better than my parents want to do to you." She paused, sighing, shaking her head. "Mew, kiddo, you're so young."

"What? Does Gary have to kill me?" she joked. "And how do you know I-?"

"You can't _live_ with Gary forever. You two don't react! You're very cute and very bland together, and it's going to fade fast." Misty opened her mouth to protest, and May quickly covered her mouth. "You're all supportive and happy but there's no spark. You're both so explosive when separate but when you're together you're so boring! Break up with him now unless you want your life to be like a three hour special on the history of grass growing."

Misty tugged the older girl's hand away, glaring. "Have you ever thought that Gary just gives me the chance to slow down? That I'm _happy _with him? And how is this any of your business?"

"By the end of the school year our parents want him married, just like with me." She held out her engagement ring as proof. "If they tied into the League through you? They just bought the whole damned pokémon industry! If not in the world at _least_ in Kanto. I married a _contest_ guy, the biggest contest guy you can get. He owns contests, and now my family does. They've started in research, my mom was medical, we've got some kind of uncle in breeding, all they're missing is to tie into the League. You're Lorelei's little favorite, aren't you?"

She made for the door. "Gary cares about me."

"Yeah, he does," she said sincerely, grabbing her arm, far more gently this time. "He really, really does care about you, and I think he really would like to keep dating you and do all the nice stuff couples do, but he cares about our parents and what they think of him more than you, and he'll do anything for them! He'll do anything to further himself and his career, even if it means hurting the people he loves. Really, Misty, save yourself before it's too late."

"First," she snapped, slapping the girl's hand away. "I don't believe you. Second, I'm not dumping him unless _I _have a good reason. Third, even if it was all true, you think I'm a big enough idiot to leap into his arms when he says 'marry me'? Please. He hasn't touched my bra yet! Marriage is the last thing on my mind, and I'm sure it's the last thing on Gary's."

She crossed her arms, scowling. "You know, they tried to get me to marry _Ash _for a League tie-in. Gary was a gentleman to Ash the whole time I was trying to-"

Misty shoved passed her far harder than she needed to, storming down the stairs, and forcing a happy attitude onto her face as she stood by Gary. smiling and chatting and laughing and flirting, and all the while glancing at Ash.

She wondered if she looked as out of place as he did.

* * *

I FINISHED YOU CHAPTER; I FINISHED YOU.

Three swear words were removed from this sentence. They are all the same swearword. Enjoy putting them in! Maybe you can throw in words that aren't swears, like "koala" or "marajuana".


	15. Phone Call

Extremely short chapter this time. I've been very busy, and have about half the next chapter done. It was all going to go into this but...this does best on its own. Hopefully, I'll have the next chapter up in a couple of weeks now that I'm back in college and have my schedule set!

* * *

**Phone Call**

A lot of people knocked on Misty's door that night. She knew that May Oak had stopped by, and Gary as well. She wasn't sure, but she thought a maid or two might have come around. She knew that Gary had come by multiple times. He had come by once, quietly, asking if she was alright. She had said she was sick, and he ran off again. The next time he came by, it was a little louder, and he knocked at the door. She didn't answer then. Not when he banged, and only when he was shaking the door handle so viciously she thought it would fall off did she sit up and bellow, "Just leave me alone, alright? I stayed through your damn party and I'm tired!" did he finally leave.

Only she hadn't stayed through the party. She had left after the desserts came out. She wasn't there to wish everyone goodbye with a kiss and a smile and a curtsey (or whatever it was that girls did nowadays to be polite), like she was sure _May_ had. The more Misty thought about the girl the more her stomach seemed to ache, in what she decided early on was jealousy. The girl would wear a perfect smile, and laugh at all the right jokes, and flirt just enough to be polite without being too risqué. The thought of May being the perfect doll for the Oak's turned and twisted in her head, until it wasn't long brown hair and gorgeous features, but Misty's own hair, grown out long like her sisters' and her face with so much time and effort put into it she _could _have been a Sensation Sister, if she really wanted. She hid under the covers and screamed at the thought.

At around eleven, she was furious. Misty rolled out of bed and ripped the covers off her bed. She flung the pillows across the room, every last one of them slamming against the fair wall and falling against the plush carpet. She ripped off the thin, silken sheets and balled them up, tossing them violently to the ground as well. She stripped the mattress bare, and leapt on it, punching and kicking and growling at the mattress. She collapsed on it for a moment, shut her eyes and tucked it under her head as if she was about to sleep, before rolling out of the bed, kicking the mattress crooked on its stand, and throwing herself onto the carpet.

Misty thought about how she must have looked. The only thing she had taken off herself in her shoes. So there she was, face ruined with her rubbing and wiping, hair ruined from thrashing, dress ruined and sticking to her with sweat. She thought that she must look absolutely ridiculous. Misty laughed at that, and put her hands on her face as she did, because it was all ridiculous. The whole night had been ridiculous, and what she was doing was ridiculous. At best, it was childish - throwing a tantrum and ruining a bed and a dress. So, she got back up and made her bed much more delicately so she could sleep.

By the time two in the morning had rolled around, she was still wide awake. She had a phone in her hand. Misty had pulled it out to play games with, but she hadn't gotten into most of them. She would play for a minute or two, then lose too many times and turn it off, waiting a couple minutes before starting the next one. And, now, she had brought up Ash's number on her phone. The numbers stared up at her from the screen, the only bright thing in the dark room. There had been a clock earlier, but she had unplugged that in an attempt to sleep.

The Oak mansion didn't seem nearly so glamorous anymore, with its large party room and endless halls, and her in a room that seemed so much like a hotel that she wondered if she entered the room across the hall, whether it would be the same room, only flipped? With the same expensive sheets that didn't feel smooth and soft anymore, though she was sure they were the softest money could buy. Instead they made her skin itch, as if she could feel each of the thousand threads that scraped along her skin. As she shifted in her bed, trying to get comfortable, the soft feather pillow crackled as loud as gunshots over her head. The whole room seemed cold and distant, even as the covers pressed against her skin.

The phone felt very warm though, there in the palm of her hand. Ash's name looked familiar too, after all the things that seemed so different now. She whispered it, the sound barely making it to her own ears, and she liked the sound of it too. In fact, now that she thought about it, she liked the sound of his voice. Gary had a more gentlemanly voice, she supposed, but Ash's was always warm and sweet, and even though he was a nagging, annoying little brat he was still kind, and he considered her a friend, even if she was on the fence about it.

But, she couldn't possibly call him, not at two in the morning. Though, it wasn't like she was calling his house. His mother wouldn't wake up at the ring of his cell phone, would she? How loud did he keep his cell phone? Had she ever even heard it? If he had Pikachu out all the time, surely he wouldn't keep it that loud, right? Wouldn't ever want to startle the little thing. Even a small noise could wake up a pikachu, though. He probably kept it on silent during the night. so, even if she called, he probably wouldn't hear it.

She could text him, though. Sure. Her fingers knew how to type, even though her eyes were a bit blurry and she was shaking a little. She texted enough that it was easy to type out a text. "May says Gary wants 2 marry me 4 my league connection" was typed out before she could even think. The words burned bright on her screen, and suddenly she was choking back a sob, wiping away tears quickly and breathing fast in hopes of stopping the crying that was, for some reason she couldn't think of, welling up in her chest.

A few seconds later and it shook, vibrating in her hand. Not a text. A call. The boy had _called _her instead of sending a text, and as she stared at the phone, completely stunned, she knew that meant it had to be good news. He had to explain, in detail, how much of a liar Gary's sister was. He wouldn't call to comfort her, surely. They weren't that close. So it had to be good news. If it was bad news, he would wait until morning. He wouldn't call right now, in the dead of night, telling her that the whole relationship with Gary had been a sham for his family to become even more powerful than they already were.

"Hello?" she asked quietly.

"She said it tonight?" he said quickly. His voice wasn't drowsy at all, and she wondered if the news had been so shocking he'd been thrown awake immediately, or if he had been lying awake just like she had.

"Yeah."

"Calm down, Misty. It's alright. I think Gary really cares about you, you know." he said it with complete sincerity and sweetness in his voice, with just the slightest touch of pity, that she could feel her heart break in her chest. She let out a small sob, then covered her mouth with her hand bit back the rest of them. "Don't cry, okay? Okay, Misty? I don't know what to do when people cry."

"I just need a friend right now." She whimpered slightly and held the phone tighter. It pressed hard against her ear, to the point where it was starting to hurt. "I'm alone and scared and instead of my sisters or friends I called you and I don't know why."

"If it helps, not only do I want to be your friend, but I've already got a friendly nickname picked out, Mist."

She giggled a little, breathing deep and trying to calm her heart, pounding in her chest. It didn't work much, so she thought of something to say, hoping desperately that he would talk more. It was nice to hear his familiar, scratching voice, always full of emotion and care. Her mind drifted, part of her even wanted to ask him to come over, to sneak out of the monstrous mansion and lay down under the bright country stars, with crickets chirping and grass tickling her skin, as they talked about...anything. Not school, not Gary, but anything other than that. She thought about it going on until morning, and a calm settled over her.

"Misty?" he asked quietly. "You still there?"

'Yeah, I'm still here." Her voice was surprisingly steady, and she gave a bitter little smile. "I should have known, though. I can't believe I was so stupid. Of course Gary wasn't interested in me. He's a manwhore. His parents are the ones who think I'd make a good wife."

"That's not true!" Ash protested.

She laughed. "You're right. I'd make a terrible wife."

"That's not true either! Misty, I've known Gary since we were in diapers, and I can tell when he likes a girl. He _likes_ you. He honestly cares for you, Misty, whether his parents had a hand in it or not. All that matters is that he really cares about you. Just ignore what his parents say."

She gulped. "What if he proposes?"

"He won't."

"But what if he _does_, Ash?"

"Then dump him!"

A heavy silence fell between the two of them, the only sound the gentle crackling of the phone due to the lousy connection between them. Misty stared at the ceiling for a minute, then giggled again. "That's the obvious solution, isn't it? Since he's being so...I should just dump him, then. If he really starts acting that way, I have to break up with him. That's what couples do, right? They break up. When things are working out, I mean. and if this is true, then it's not working out, right?"

There was another stretch of quiet, and Ash's voice cracked, "It's working out, Mist. I'm sure that he cares about you. If he makes you happy, and he really cares about you, you should stay with him. Breaking up is the very last resort, Mist. So...just...you need to just do whatever makes you happy."

"Well, is it true, what she said?"

"He cares about you."

"You're avoiding the question, Ash."

"Aren't I allowed to have anything private?" he snapped suddenly. "If it is true, that part you want me to tell you, it's none of your business. It has nothing to do with you. All you need to know is that I'm not with her now. If I was with her in the past, or if anything happened, it's none of your business."

"You're being defensive," she said softly. "So I know that something happened. You wouldn't be so defensive if nothing happened."

He took a few deep breaths. "I'm not going to tell you, alright? Yes. Something happened. I don't want to talk about it. It doesn't have anything to do with you."

"I'm going back home in a few days, on the train," she said, examining her nails. "I think I'll talk to him on the train, and we'll have a really long talk about where the relationship's going an what I want to do, and what he wants to do, because that's the responsible way to go about all of this. I think that's probably best, to talk. Once we talk, there won't be any more problems. I'll go home and...we'll start up the tutoring again. It'll be like none of this ever happened. This whole vacation will be like a bad dream."

"Misty, I don't think-"

She hung up the phone, and, in a few minutes, fell asleep.


	16. Back to School

So, there are a couple people in the reviews who have been telling me to update, or to write more of a certain pairing and things like that, and I suddenly realized: Yeah! I'm so stupid! I should being doing that!

You reviewers who do nothing but order me to update and to include more of a certain pairing are totally the best. I mean, it's not like I've got this story planned out! It's not like this story is anything more than me getting two characters together, right? Who the hell cares about a crisis about what to do with life and moving too fast in a relationship, or getting over yourself to become friends with someone simply because you're unhappy of the situation you were put in with him! Character development is stupid, and I should have more scenes of May and Drew making out!

So all you reviewers who take the time to write about what you liked and didn't like, and respect that I have a busy life, and appreciate everything I put into this story, stop being such fuddy duddies! You've got to order me around like I'm your personal writer and tell me to do certain pairings without offering me any incentive like money or the ability to read the teacher's mind and determine exactly what will be on her demon trick tests! You guys are boring and lame, just like character development and complex relationships!

Let's get on with making everyone make out, huh?

*hug* In all honesty, thank you to those reviewers who take the time to tell me what they like about the story, and appreciate the work I put into it. You guys are the reason I post, you're the ones who inspire me to take some spare time and spend it on writing rather than napping. Thank you so much for knowing that life gets in the way, and for being so patient with me as I come out with these chapters. You guys are so incredible, and make every obnoxious review worth it, just to see you guys.

I can't list you all, but you should know who you absolutely wonderful people are. Thank you, thank you, thank you for being so wonderful.

* * *

**Back to School**

The next few days were boring, to say the least. Nothing happened, really. Gary gave her a tour of Professor Oak's ranch, showed her al the nice places in town, and the last day was spent being lazy and relaxing around the house. Ash never came over to visit. May didn't say anything else about their relationship, and barely showed her face around the house. Misty only saw her at mealtimes, when everyone in the house sat at the table and talked about boring, uninteresting things that she pretended she cared about. Honestly, she didn't care what the stock prices were or the latest technique to sterilize medical equipment. She mostly ate her dinner silently, and laughed at all the right cues before crashing on the couch and watching television with Gary.

The train ride was fairly boring too. Pallet was the last stop on the line, and it was easy to get on the nearly empty train. For the first couple of stops, Gary and Misty had a car to themselves, and each sat in their own row so they could stretch out and nap. The train had left at six, and they both slept until eight before the train started filling to the point that they had to share a row. The slow rock of the train kept Misty drowsy, so she leaned her head on Gary's shoulder and let her eyes close - not sleeping, but very relaxed.

Relaxed enough to bring up an important issue, apparently, because before she could stop herself, she was murmuring just loud enough for him to hear: "You know, I think I'd be better off as a gym leader. I think I'd be a lot happier that way. If I stayed with the League I'd be in chains all the time. I can set my own schedule as a leader. Maybe I'll even travel a bit."

She felt him stiffen next to her. His torso tightened against hers, and his shoulder became a rock against her head. She moved so she could lean against the window, and looked out at the rolling countryside. Gary made no move to pull her back. His voice was as stiff as his body when he spoke. "Why would you do that? You've never brought it up before."

"I've never been to Pallet before," she said dreamily. Every ranch she passed brought her courage, whether it was a herd of imported mareep, a couple ponyta and rapidash in a field, or even a group of tauros all clustered together and picking the field clean of grass. She kept talking, a small smile on her face. "I'd like to see places that aren't boxed up in concrete. I mean, it's setting in that all the pictures I've seen in books and on TV are real places that I could go to and I could see them myself, with my own eyes. I'd love to see it all, wouldn't you?"

He was quiet for a moment, then chuckled, "Maybe once you've saved up-"

"No way. Sack on my back traveling, nothing but me, friends and pokémon." She pressed her hand against the window and wished she could open it. She wanted the hot summer breeze, the thick scent of woods and grass and wilderness. she wanted a breath outside of humans packed in a car, covered in perfumes and colognes that assaulted her nose every second. "I don't want any more cages."

He snorted as if she had said something stupid, and she felt her free hand ball into a fist and twitch with the urge to punch him. "It'd be smarter, too, if you stayed at the gym."

"But if I'm _happy_," she said, looking away from the window and glaring at him. "If I can make a living and I'm healthy and _happy_, what's it matter either way? As long as I don't have kids or someone relying on me, why can't I just run off for a while? Especially since I have the gym waiting for me when I come back. Why does the League really matter to me, Gary, if I'd be a million times happier having the free time to go hiking in the mountains rather than sitting on a pile of paperwork and cash all the time?"

"It matters because…" His voice was strong, as if he was about to scold her, but he trailed off quickly as he seemed to search for words. Misty wondered if he had been thinking that more money would make him happier, or even if he was thinking about what his parents would want. Either way, the conclusion was the same, and he finished with a lame, "You know it matters. Do the smart thing, Misty."

"Rather than following my heart?"

He didn't answer, and refused to look her way.

She wanted to hit him for it. She turned the thought over and over in her head, imagining her fist plowing into his face and knocking him to the floor. In her fantasy, the people on the train clapped for her, giving her pats on the back and telling her that she was right for hitting the jerk. She didn't, though. She had done far more violent things for far less than someone telling her to give up her dreams, but her hand stayed by her side. She didn't slap him, didn't pinch him, didn't even yell at him.

After a while, she realized she didn't want to hit him because she was angry. There was not hot flush in her face or pounding adrenaline. Instead, she felt almost numb. Empty. She didn't want to do much of anything. She wanted to lay down in her bed, even though she felt too exhausted to sleep. She wanted to scream and keep on screaming until her throat was raw. She even wanted to cry a little, and her throat and eyes burned with the need of it. She didn't cry, of course, because she was in public, but she did finally realize what was wrong with her, and could not stop thinking about it all the way back to Goldenrod, all the way back to her dorm room.

She was heartbroken.

And a tiny bit upset she hadn't punched Gary in the face.

Still, Gary was, in fact, punched. Not in the face, but on the shoulder, though the gesture was anything but friendly. He rolled his shoulder and rubbed at the sore spot, turning to glare at whoever did it (who he believed would be running away once they realized who they'd hit), and came face to face with Ash Ketchum, eyes burning with fury and lip curled in a snarl. Gary almost wanted to laugh. It had been years since the two of them got into an actual fist fight (all of which Gary had won) but the boy was clearly posed as if he was ready to hit him again.

"What the hell was that for, Ketchum?" Gary chuckled. "Think now that you're Lance's protojay you've got a chance?"

"_You_," Ash said venomously, "hurt her."

"I..." Gary scowled. "How the hell do you even know that?"

"It's none of your business how I know," Ash snapped, and gave Gary a shove. "You hurt her, and she's freaking out about this. If you don't stop acting like May did when we were dating, you're going to lose her, and you're going to make her cry, and I know you like her Gary, so I know you don't want to do it. So back off her and let her do what she wants."

"It's my relationship, ash, why don't you mind your own-"

"She's my friend!" he snapped. "This _is _my business!"

Gary stared at him for a moment, then laughed, shaking his head. "I can't fucking believe it. Ash Ketchum, don't tell me that we're about to fight over a _girl_. Besides the fact that it's a girl who won't even call you her _friend_. You can't even get into the fucking _friendzone _with her and you're going to try to fight me, her current boyfriend, over her? Come on, Ash, I know you're bad with girls, but this is...unbelievable. You know that you don't stand a chance with her, even if we break up she'd never-"

Both Ash and Gary were quite surprised to find that Ash punched Gary in the face before storming off, hard enough to knock the cocky boy to the ground.

* * *

However while Gary and Ash's friendship was on a very shaky ground, May and Misty were getting along just fine a few hours after move in. May was eagerly giggling around Misty as the two of them discussed May's attempts to ask Drew out. They had, in fact had an entire conversation without May saying anything utterly stupid. Granted, it was about contests from a few years back and the two of them were in complete agreement that Sean Tanner shouldn't have won because of his complete lack of connection with his milotic, and only won because of how pretty the pokemon won. Still, it was a conversation that May had successfully made it through, which meant that she was one step closer to actually being able to ask him out.

Finally, the time came for the conversation to switch to Misty, and May lounged on the bed with her, and bumped her gently on the shoulder with a grin. "So, how'd the break go? Was his family insane? Did you make out passionately under the stars? Did he ride on a tractor without a shirt on?"

Misty was able to laugh and shook her head. "Nah, they weren't bad. They were really nice, actually. I had a really good time and I didn't even hate meeting up with Ash. I think we bonded. I hate him a lot less now. We don't have much to talk about, but I guess he's not half bad."

"See? I told you he was a nice guy! I told you! You never listen to me." May squealed. She clapped her hands eagerly, then bumped her shoulder again with a mock frown. "Gees, I don't expect you to marry him but his not a jerk or anything."

"Ugh, no marriage talk," Misty's voice was light, but the numbness was starting to pool in her gut again. She forced herself to joke. "Avoid anything using the word marry or I'll barf. I can't explain it to you, but let's just say I won't ever look at Gary's sister the same way again."

May wrinkled her nose. "Is it something about sex?"

"You don't want to know." She grinned and winked May's way.

Naturally, the girl assumed and blushed and cried, "Ew!" right before Dawn burst in, wrapped in only a towel with her hair soaking wet. The most noticeable thing was, of course, the fact that she was covered in red streaks from head to toe. She glared at the two of them, trembling a bit in rage, and said in a very low, very slow, very terrifying voice, "I'm not _accusing _anyone. I just need to know who the hell put one of those disgusting powder drink mixes in the showerhead. I'm not going to get mad-"

Misty couldn't help but let a giggle slip. "I think you're already mad."

"I'm sticky and red and this is _not okay_!" she shouted.

The two girls fell over themselves in laughter, May barely managing to gasp out, "Kenny said...K-Kenny said he had some of your stuff. I let him into the room!" before laughing again, holding her stomach and rolling on the bed with sheer joy at how angry Dawn was. The blue haired girl gave a shriek and raced back down the hall, screaming Kenny's name and proclaiming that if she ever found him, she was going to kill him for messing up her hair and making her all sticky.

"You know," Misty giggled. "I don't think she remembers she's in a towel."

"So she's going to track him down in a towel..."

"All sticky..."

"And try to beat him up..."

"Which'll probably make the towel fall off..."

"So she'll be naked..."

"And sticky..."

"And...oh my Mew!"

Unable to help themselves, they continued to laugh until any numbness or worry Misty had faded away. Things would work out with Gary. Things would work out with her future. What was important was that it was her last year in school, and she was with good friends and happy and laughing. This was what her year should be about, not worrying over some boy. She would just focus on her friends, on her schoolwork, and she was sure that everything would fall into place. All she had to do was keep laughing.

* * *

Considering May was the smallest bit crazy and had been trying to ask out Drew for a year, it was understandable that she would stare at Dawn with openmouthed shock upon hearing that the blue haired porcelain doll had managed to ask Kenny out without any trouble over break. Dawn had, apparently, noticed Kenny following her around, and spending as much time with her as possible, and had decided that he was actually kind of cute, and though he was hot and manly or anything, he was awfully nice to her and she kind of liked him back. So, upon this discovery, she had asked him out to the movies and they had enjoyed a sweet romantic kiss in a movie theater playing the summer's latest teen romance movie.

The brunette swallowed and whispered, "S-so, you asked Kenny out?"

Dawn giggled, elbowing her in the side. May hadn't spoken for about an hour, from when Dawn had first told her the story in their dorm room to when they walked down to the cafeteria together, and were now in the lunch line waiting to get their only option for food that day: hamburgers and steak fries, both of which were mediocre at best and being pumped out like they were on an assembly line. "Yeah, and it's not a secret I asked him, so you don't have to whisper. Lots of people know. Why are you obsessing?"

"I..." May shook her head, still disbelieving. "I don't understand how you just walk up to a guy and ask him out."

She laughed now, covering her mouth quickly and trying to stop her laughter, that kept bubbling through her lips. it took her a few tries, with several different stops, before she decided to finish laughing it out, and then smirk May's way. "Walk over and go, 'Hi, I'm May. I have no self esteem and I want to date you, Drew!' You've been trying to do that for a year, according to Misty. Seriously, in all that time, how many times have you tried to ask him out and totally failed?"

"That's not important." It was fifty four. "I just can't believe you can just ask someone out like that! Don't you get nervous?" She looked at Dawn, still slightly amazed despite the mocking, wondering how someone could have so much confidence. She knew people asked out other people all the time, but first off it was usually the guys (and didn't guys have more confidence than girls? Well, May figured they did), and even the guys must have been a little nervous about rejection. Surely nobody really just walked up to somebody else and asked them out.

"Why would I be nervous?" she asked, grabbing her tray. She smiled at the lunch lady behind the counter. "Can I have a hamburger with no fries? I hate steak fries."

May nudged her, whispering, "Right, but what if they say no?"

"They don't say no," she said with a shrug. "I'm Dawn."

"But what if they _do_?" May insisted. "What if you walk up to them and ask them out, and they say, 'no, you're ugly and stupid and kind of fat and your boobs are too big for your body so I don't want to date you never talk to me again you ugly stupid freak'?"

Dawn looked at her in confusion, and May ordered while she stared. May grabbed a ketchup bottle and put it on Dawn's tray, who was too stunned to object to being the ketchup carrier, and they began to walk to the table, and Dawn muttered, "But I'm _me_. Why would they say no?"

"You're no help at all." May moaned. "I'll never ask him out."

"I don't get it. Why would they say no? I mean, look at me! I'm _me_!"

It was at that absolutely beautiful, perfect moment that Dawn stepped on a steak fry, the very type of fry she had hated and rejected just the moment before. The fry slid on the tile, and Dawn fell backward. There was a bit of bain in her butt that shot up her spine, right before a thud against her chest and the feel of something wet spraying across her face, she gave a little shriek of horror, and tasted ketchup in her mouth. She was on her feet in an instant, surrounded by laughter, and wiping ketchup off her face with the back of her hand. Thankfully only embarrassed, mad, and a little bit bruised, she glared at the one who was laughing hardest of all. May.

"Oh my Mew, I can't breathe," she gasped.

Dawn began to blush as she realized that Kenny would almost certainly be in the cafeteria, and she spun around quick until she caught a glimpse of him. She immediately turned away, her blush darkening as she whispered, "Is he looking? Tell me he's not looking."

"Of course they're looking, it's _you_!" May taunted gleefully. "You that slipped on a steak fry and is now covered in your lunch. How's that for karma?"

"Great, now he's going to laugh about this on our date," she whimpered. She punched May in the shoulder, not that it made a difference. Misty had done it far more often, and Misty was much stronger than Dawn. May barely even felt it as she continued to laugh, and Dawn stomped her foot. She punch May again and again in the over, muttering repeatedly, "Stop _laughing,_ May."

"I've never been so happy because someone was sad before," she giggled, wiping tears from her eyes. "Is this normal?"

"Yeah. It's called schadenfreude," Dawn muttered, leading her to the bathroom now that people had stopped looking. "You're a normal human being."

"This might be the happiest day of my life. Ever. Seriously, I think I might scream."

"Come help clean me up," she muttered, pushing May in front of her so people couldn't see the disaster her outfit, face and hair had become. Much to her horror, however, Kenny, smiling shyly, was coming up to her. She squeaked and hid behind May, crying, "Don't let him see me."

"_Everyone _saw you," May teased, still doing her duty and blocking her from Kenny. She smiled at the boy. "Please don't tease her, she's not very good at putting up with it. Apparently, she's too perfect to ever be teased."

"I just wanted to know if Dee-Dee was okay. You alright, dawn, because I can walk you to the nurse." He went on his tiptoes to look over May's shoulder, and she lifted her head from its hiding spot on May's back. "That's all ketchup, right? You're not bleeding, are you?"

She smiled back, and May stepped out of the way to let the two have their moment. Dawn's hands tucked sheepishly behind her back, and she looked at him from under her eyelashes. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just slipped a little. Thank you for asking, Kenny."

"Are you...you're feeling good enough for our date tonight?" he asked. "I understand if you don't want to. If you'll let me, I can sneak into your place to feed you soup or something."

Dawn shook her head. "No, I...I still want to go out." She blushed and grabbed May's hand, the two of them racing to the bathroom as dawn cried out quick over her shoulder, "Thanks so much for caring, Kenny, but May really needs to help me clean up! I want to make sure I look nice for our date!" The second the door closed to the girls' bathroom, Dawn stripped off her shirt and began to scrub it in the sink, chatting on about how glad she was that Kenny was a nice guy, and apparently not caring that another girl might walk in any moment and see her half naked.

And, all the while, May helped her clean and couldn't help but wonder - how was it that Dawn was with Kenny? The boy crazy girl, the one who talked on and on about physical appearance, was with a boy who wasn't especially hot. She was with a kind boy, who had seen her get embarrassed and tended to her. She had all the confidence in the world, but even at her lowest she was still going out on a date with a guy she liked. Kenny had brought up the date, and Kenny was the one making suggestions on what to do if they couldn't go out.

For the first time, the thought sincerely crossed May's mind that Drew didn't like her.

"This can't be happening," Ash moaned, his head in his hands. "I don't like girls. I've never really _liked _a girl before. She's not that pretty or smart or funny or anything. There's no reason for her to stand out."

Pikachu nuzzled against his hand, and Ash scooped her up. The mouse squirmed a little as Ash clutched her tight, burying his head in her fur and feeling her speedy heart pound under his fingers, but she eventually found a comfy spot and relaxed, letting her owner cling to her as much as he needed to. For a few minutes, the scent of anxiety and worry filed her nose, so she licked the boy's cheek in hope that it would calm him. it just made him groan and hold her tighter.

"She's Gary's girlfriend," Ash whispered. "And I punched Gary. I punched him and ran. I've never done anything like that before. I've never hated Gary so much before, and I don't even know if it's his fault. And what he said...she doesn't even want to be my friend. I don't think that's all true. I think she wants to be my friend. She called me that night, didn't she? She wouldn't have called me if she really hated me, would she? I mean, if she didn't like me at all, I'm sure she wouldn't have called."

She gave him another little lick on the cheek, and Ash sighed, setting her down and beginning to pace around the room. "She's coming to tutor me today, and I don't...I don't want it to be weird or anything. I don't know what to _do _anymore. I don't know how I'm supposed to act around a girl I like, and I don't even know if I really _like _her! I don't know how this is supposed to feel or what's supposed to happen or what I'm supposed to do about it. Why doesn't anyone _tell _you this stuff?"

The handle of his door turned and Misty strode in, sighing and tossing the books down on his desk with a groan. "Who's not telling you about what stuff? Is it your English teacher again? Because, Mew, that...I can't stand that person." She tugged her shorts down and fell into the chair, closing her eyes and letting her head fall back.

Ash began to shuffle through his backpack, looking for his homework as he thought over what to say. Part of him wanted to come right out and ask her if she really liked him as a friend, or even ask her what liking someone in a romantic way felt like. Most of him just wanted her to leave so he could stop feeling so uncomfortable and head down to the battle fields to get some practice for the big competition coming up. Instead, he held out the homework to her and asked, "You're the kind who doesn't talk about it, right?"

"Talk about what?" she asked lightly, taking the homework from him and beginning to look it over. He opened his mouth to speak, but she kept talking, "As far as I'm concerned, nothing happened this break. I was whisked away to scenic Pallet Town, made out with my hot boyfriend and got a little closer to you after seeing you in your natural environment. I don't hate you nearly so much now, and no one really needs to know why. Sound good to you?"

"You haven't talked to him," he said flatly. he wasn't accusing her, he _knew_. He was starting to know an awful lot about her, with all the attention he had been paying. With everything he knew, he didn't have a doubt in his mind that she hadn't talked to Gary, and planned to never talk to Gary, because she didn't really now how to talk to him. She wasn't so eager to yell at him or tell him off, because that wasn't how he thought his girlfriend was supposed to act. If she was with _him_ though, he bet that she'd yell at him. The thought was, somehow, not unpleasant.

"I'm your tutor, Ash. We're talking about school now." She kept staring at the paper, but her eyes weren't moving. It was obvious that she wasn't reading it. "Forget what happened over break, we don't need to talk about it."

"Put down the papers and talk to me as a friend then," he said, trying and failing to pull his papers back. "If nothing else talk to Gary and find out if he's really going to propose because his parents told him to."

Her fingers tightened on his papers, wrinkling them. He was going to have to rewrite them now, but she didn't seem to notice. She just stared at the papers, breathing heavy like she had just run a marathon and shaking a little. He wondered if it was because she was angry or scared. He wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit of both. Her voice was steady and cold when she spoke, "I don't want to talk about this."

"You have to talk to him," he said, tugging the papers harder, not especially caring if he ripped them out of her hands and she got a paper cut. He was angry, once again furious at Gary for the things he might do instead of anything he did, and he was confused about that, which made him angrier. And there was Misty, sitting there and trembling and scared or angry and that made him even madder, to the point that he wanted to scram, and when he spoke his voice came out even louder than he intended, "You can't let him use you!"

"Ash!" she shouted, shoving the papers into him. He fell into his chair, the thing rocking back a bit from the force. He grabbed the desk and pulled himself upright, barely catching himself before he toppled over backwards. Pikachu was growling a little and sparking under the desk. Without a thought, he leaned down to stroke her as Misty continued to yell. "I know! You think I don't know that he's using me and he probably _does_ like me but wants to make his parents happy and just…just uses me? You think I don't know that we're not romantically hitting it off? That I love kissing him but have no desire whatsoever to go further? It's _my life_, you think I don't know?"

He brought Pikachu into his lap, and pet her softy. Her sparks died down and she snuggled into him. "Then why would you stay with him?"

"He makes me feel special. It's what he does best," she murmured, running her fingers through her ponytail. She undid it quietly, brushing her hair out, then put it back, tighter than before. He watched her the whole time. He couldn't shake the thought that she was pretty while she did it, that he really liked watching her put up her hair in her signature hairstyle. "He's done it from day one. When I'm with him I feel like everything's perfect and everyone loves me and I'm the best thing since sliced bread. He's my fairytale. He makes me feel wonderful."

"That can't…" he swallowed, thinking about drugs and alcohol and all the other things that made you feel wonderful even though you didn't really like the things themselves. "That isn't good."

"No Ash," she said, swallowing. "But neither is your math. Come on, let's focus a little more on homework."

He put his hand on hers for one brief second, and for that one brief second a little tingle went through him and a heat pooled in his stomach, and his mind entirely focused on how soft her skin was, and how much he hated that Gary got to hold her hand and probably didn't care that it was soft, because he'd held so many girl's hands before, even though that was the stupidest thing to be angry about yet. Then h yanked his hand back and spun in his chair, clearing his throat and trying to remember what it was he had wanted to say. It wasn't about math, that was for sure. It was about something to distract them from math, because he really didn't want to talk about school, and he didn't want to spend the next hour in the room with her talking about _math_, which he hated above all other subjects.

"If we don't have some rule about you touching me, we're going to have to make one," she scolded, looking over his papers again. She began to frown as she looked through the pages. "Did you start cheating off someone in class, Ketchum? Because that isn't okay."

"I didn't cheat!"

"Doubtful." she put the papers down and glared at him. "Are you telling me you remembered to put the proper heading on your paper, took the time to write neatly, showed all your work, got all the questions right, and managed not to lose this. You're telling me you did all of that without any kind of help?"

He grinned proudly. "They're all right?"

"Every last one. How the hell did you do this?"

"I studied."

"That's crap."

"No, really." he laughed and pulled out his math book, flipping through the pages marked up with yellow highlighter. "Over the break, because I had time, I read a couple chapters ahead in all my books. I highlighted and stuff, like you usually tell me to do, and I did a few practice problems until I got them right, like the answer in the back of the book said. I made flashcards for history and English, and I just...I actually tried in all my school work! It took so much time and so much work, but it really paid off!"

She nodded, looking it over for a third time, searching for a single wrong answer. She couldn't find one. "It really did pay off, Ash. I can't find anything wrong."

"Do you want to get ice cream?" he said suddenly. She stared at him, and he swallowed thickly, trying to make up for his boldness. "To celebrate, I mean. I was thinking maybe we could call up Brock, and the three of us could go for ice cream, because Brock would be really excited that I did so well on my own and I, well, I figured that since you're my tutor, you're happy that I'm doing well on my own, or at least better, so you'd want to celebrate to. and, I mean, obviously, I want to celebrate because-"

She held up her hand to stop him, smiling a little and shaking her head. "Call Brock."

He leapt up, Pikachu tumbling to the floor. "Really?"

Misty put her head in her hands and laughed, finally slapping her hands down on her thighs and standing up herself. "Really."


	17. Bad Date

In this chapter, everyone dies. Everyone. That's the big twist in this story. A nuclear bomb kills absolutely everything, and the rest of this story is spent with mutants who roam the earth in search of mutant food. We then find a mutant who falls in love with another mutant, but are unable to hold each other because they are made of different kinds of chemicals and touching one another burns. It is a tragic tale.*

Enjoy.

* * *

**Bad Date**

Misty drummed a pair of pencils on her desk. She was bored with no homework to do and after a few hours of video games, an hour of reading, taking some time to study and finding there was nothing she didn't have in her head already, she had exhausted all of hr options. Not that she had memorized her books word for word, but she knew her note cards backwards and forwards, and she figured her notes were good enough that she could get an A. She didn't care if her A was an A- or A+, it all came out the same on her GPA, and she certainly wasn't going to work any harder than she had to in the many subjects she didn't care about.

At this point, she could have bombed every test and come out with a more than decent GPA. She wasn't panning on any kind of college afterward, or any job that would be looking at her grades, she bet. Her only choice at the moment seemed to be following Lorelei's lead, and Lorelei knew her well enough at this point that terrible grades in the last half of the year wouldn't bother her in the slightest. Every other kid in her class was starting to go down the senior slide. Her only real concern at the moment, school wise at least, was making sure that Ash didn't go the same route. Still, she couldn't stand seeing anything less than an A come back on her papers. It killed the time, at least.

After a few more minutes of boredom, she began rummaging through her suitcase for a swimsuit. She tugged it on, grabbed a towel, and put on some workout clothes. It was sweatpants and a tshirt, but the tanks weren't too far, so she didn't mind the winter weather. She jogged down the winter road, placing her feet carefully so she wouldn't slip on the ice. Entering the building, she gave a little sigh as her body adjusted to the warmth of the room, knowing that soon she'd be chilled again.

The first thing she did was toss out her pokemon into the pool. She exercised them often, but unless she was at home and given twenty four hour access to the tanks, she never felt like it was enough. Misty barely had time to strip before her now released water pokemon were splashing water at her. Most insistent was her gyarados, an adolescent male who was greedy for attention. She chuckled and sat on the edge, rubbing his spines as he rumbled with pleasure, creating gentle currents in the pool as he stroked the water with his powerful tail.

"Hey, sweet boy," Misty crooned. "Ready to play?"

He roared his approval, and she winced at the volume. A moment later she had slipped into the water, doing a few warm up laps before climbing onto gyarados, just behind his head. Her legs clutched around his neck tightly. She didn't have anywhere near the strength to choke him, sometimes she doubted that the massive thing even felt her, but she did have the strength to hold on as he plunged under the water. She held her breath, heart pounding as he raced through the water, twisting and turning. She took deep gasps of air when he launched himself into the air. The tanks weren't big enough for him to jump into the air, but he managed to heave more than half his body out, and she adored the feeling of her stomach in her throat as they fell back into the water.

It took about fifteen minutes for him to get tired, and she slid off his neck, floating on her back, only stroking to keep herself from bumping into the sides. He swam slowly beneath her, and a few of her other pokemon that she had released swam up to cuddle with her - staryu and starmie and horsea. The psyduck she had gotten through circumstances she wasn't exactly happy with watched from the sidelines, and seaking spent his time at the bottom of the pool, preferring to be alone.

She dragged herself out of the pool and looked at her pokemon for a moment, then nodded. "Let's train you guys for the big competition, huh?"

Misty was exhausted the next morning.

She smiled anyway.

* * *

Gary snuck up behind his girlfriend, giving her a warm kiss on her neck. She grinned, letting her head fall back against the library couch, and setting her book text down in her lap so she wouldn't lose her place. Gary leaned in once more and gave her a slow, sweet kiss. He pulled away and let her tuck her books away in her bag, turning to his phone as he looked through movie times for their date tonight. As one of the few nights Misty didn't have to tutor, they intended to take advantage of Misty's free afternoon.

"There's a horror flick and a romcom," Gary said, handing her the phone as she swung her drawstring bag onto her back. "If you'd rather get dinner first, there's a few more options. I think it'd be better to get dinner first. There's an action movie you'd probably like better, knowing your tastes."

Misty frowned a bit, wondering why the comment had irked her so much. Gary certainly hadn't said it in a malicious way, or even teasing. It had been matter of fact - and quite true, honestly. Although she did love romantic movies, her DVD collection was mostly full of action and adventure movies. Not only that, but she had been talking about the action movie over spring break. She wanted to see it. She hadn't even heard of the romantic comedy. Considering the time of the year it had come out, it wasn't likely to be very good, either.

Still, she found herself forcing a smile on her face as she said, "Nope. I want to see the romcom. We can go get dinner afterwards." She pushed the library door open, then spun to face him, walking backwards to his car as they talked. "You can choose the dinner place, since it's you're always the one who pays anyway. You know, I used to feel bad about that. Not so much after I saw that mansion of yours. I always knew you were loaded, Oak, but that was way more than I ever expected. You should see the place I share with my sisters. I can't believe we all fit in it."

Gary grinned. "Well, one day, we'll have our own mansion."

She bumped against the car and stared at him. His grin started to fall slightly, and she walked quickly around the side and into the car, hoping that he wouldn't ask about her face. In fact, she kind of hoped that he wouldn't say anything. Far from the giddiness she had felt after Gary's kiss, she suddenly wanted nothing more than to burst out of the car and run back to her dorm. Misty didn't, and told herself she was silly for wanting to do so. Gary hadn't done anything wrong, other than insinuating they might live together one day. That was something couples did, wasn't it? They made jokes about what their kids would be like and talked about a future together.

"So, ah..." Gary cleared his throat awkwardly. "You said you wanted the romcom?"

She watched the world roll by past the window for a minute, then muttered, "It looks funny."

"I'm not really into romcoms. They're usually chick flicks."

"Because if it's made for women, it's stupid?" she snapped.

"I didn't say that!"

"It was implied."

"What the hell is _wrong _with you today?" he asked, hitting the breaks harder than he needed to when the red light came up. Gary's hands were white as he clutched the wheel. "I don't want to be rude, Misty, but you're acting really bitchy. If you need to be alone for a while, or need some ibuprofen, just ask. I'll leave you alone. You don't need to come out and yell at me for every little thing if you'd be happier at home with a bowl of ice cream. Hell, I'll _buy _you the ice cream, but I can't deal with this. I can't spend all my time walking on eggshells around you."

She gawked at him, feeling her temper rise. "Are you saying I'm a bitch because I'm _PMSing,_ you ass? I'm not even on my period! How _dare _you-?"

He cut her off with a shout: "Well, how do you expect me to act?"

"I expect you to-"

A honk cut her off this time, and Gary slammed his foot on the gas and sped through the intersection, slowing down a moment later when he realized how fast he was speeding. Misty heard him take a few deep breaths, and she stared out the window, silent as she glared at the gold tinted buildings of the city. She thought about telling Gary to pull over, to let her out, and she would take however long it took to walk back to the school, if only she didn't have to be around him ay longer, and could just take a break from all the anger and confusion and come back when she was ready to be cheerful again.

She didn't. Instead, they continued on their way to the theater in silence. Gary paid for both tickets, and she resisted the urge to hit him, as he hadn't even asked her if she wanted to pay, and just assumed he had to pay for her. She was worried that she was being too bitchy, so she kept quiet and let him buy the snacks as well. Misty figured he would be happier that way. Gary had always liked buying things, maybe because he liked to show off. She didn't really mind that he didn't let her pay. She was just being overly sensitive. She was just being stupid.

Misty let him hold her hand in the theater. His hand was dry and warm, and it was all in all a perfect hand hold, but her hand kept squirming in his grasp, and she wanted to snatch it away and keep it tucked in her lap. she tried to focus on the movie, but her mind kept sliding back to his touch. She hardly liked it now, and even when she had, it was never that much fun. Gary was so boring, so annoying. Why hadn't she noticed before? Why was she sitting in a theater with him, when she would much rather be hanging out with May or her pokemon. This whole date was unbearable.

He lifted her hand and kissed it once. She nearly ran out of the theater at that, and Gary seemed to notice. He didn't try anything else. His hand held hers limply for the duration of the movie. He didn't talk to her, spite that it was an early show and there was hardly anyone in the theater - he surely could have gotten away with making a couple jokes about the movie. Then again, that wasn't something Gary would do. She supposed she ight be able to do it with dawn, or her sisters, or even Ash.

She wondered what Ash was doing right then.

"Misty, do you love me?" Gary asked quietly.

The movie was ending. The romantic couple had gotten back together, and were about to engage in a romantic heavily implied sex scene. They were making out heavily in the girl's apartment, whispering apologies and things about why they loved one another, and a bunch of cheesy things she normally enjoyed, if she had managed to pay attention to the movie at all, instead of forcing her mind to wander to get away from Gary's hand in hers.

She sighed, using her free hand to pinch the bridge of her nose, hoping to fight off the headache that was making her head swim. "You make me happy, and I love being with you. I wouldn't give this up for anything," she murmured back, keeping the anger out of her voice. She did it well, and was shocked that she was managing to do so without her voice trembling. "But I'd rather watch them kiss at the moment. I've sat through two hours of set up for this part."

"I love you, Misty.,," he whispered, squeezing her hand tight.

"Too fast, Gary," she scolded.

"No shit, Sherlock," snorted a woman behind them. She leaned forward, pointing at the screen for a moment and snapping, "She's known him for a week and they're already having sex in her flat. Whore. Real shit doesn't go down like that for nice girls," before leaning back with another snort and shaking her head.

Misty giggled, taking her hand from Gary's to cover her mouth, and felt instantly relieved that she was out of his grasp. She found herself able to smile at him, though she certainly wasn't happy. If anything, she was terrified, with her heart throbbing in her chest and her chest feeling like it was being squeezed by a donphan's trunk. "Gary, it's too fast. Some girls can say that without a problem, but I want it to mean something. When I love you, when I really, really love you, I'll tell you."

He frowned. "But I said I-"

"Never had something turned down to you, rich boy?" she retorted.

Her voice was good natured. She sure as hell wasn't.

They had gone back to the dorms in silence. She didn't kiss him goodnight. She didn't even say goodbye, simply got out of the car, slamming the door behind her, and walking quickly away so he wouldn't have time to call after her. From what she could tell without turning around, he didn't. She didn't hear the car door open, so she supposed he just sat in his car. Maybe he watched her leave. She hoped he was rethinking the relationship. She hoped he was planning on slowing down. Somewhere, deep down, she hoped he would break up with her.

* * *

Ash never did much in his room. He preferred to be out and training his pokemon, but they could only take so much before he had to give them a beak. Now that it was winter, he didn't want to run outside, and so he spent far more time inside than he liked. He tried video games to keep himself entertained, but he wasn't very good at them, and spent most of the game play with the music turned down so he could focus intensely on whatever action he happened to be performing.

At the moment, he was trying to make an especially tricky jump. He crashed, but that ws more due to the loud sound of a door slamming and someone stomping down the hall. Ash threw down his controller immediately and peaked out the door in hopes for some kind of excitement. Unfortunately, he wasn't subtle enough in opening it, and soon found himself face to face with Gary. The other boy had thrown the door open, startling Pikachu awake and leaving Ash with his fists raised in self defense.

Gary didn't sees to notice. he was pacing in Ash's room, seething, his arms crossed over his chest. "I don't get it. I didn't do anything. I'm treating her nice - _way _nicer than I've ever treated a girl. Hell, I treat her better than I've ever treated anyone, and she has to get on my nerves and make me be a jerk. It's _her _mewdamned fault! Ash, do you know how fucking annoying girls are? You can do absolutely everything right, and they'll still find something to bitch about. You know, if I didn't have so much time and money and fucking _effort _invested in this relationship I would have broken up with her an tossed her out of the car tonight."

Ash glared. "Get out of my room, Gary."

The taller boy stared at Ash for a while, his arms falling to his side. "Listen, Ash, maybe you can talk to her. If you could figure out why she's mad at me-"

"Why don't you just ask her? she's your girlfriend, Gary, not mine. you said yourself, she doesn't even like me." He felt Pikachu climb onto his shoulder, and felt little sparks sinking into his skin. Ash absently brushed a hand down the mouse's back, though his agitation wouldn't be very calming, no matter how long he pet his best friend. "I don't even know why you're _here_. Do you really think that I'm going to help you with your stupid relationship problem? Why do you even think I care?"

Gary snorted. "Because you like her."

"She's my tutor."

"You're hot for teacher," he sneered, walking up to Ash. Now that he had found someone to bully, he seemed back to his arrogant self. Ash slapped his hand away when Gary dared to poke him in the chest. "Listen, you like her. I get it. I don't care, especially since she hates you. Still, if you're in love with her, Ketchum, you know the best thing to do is to make her happy. _I _make her happy."

Ash felt his fists tightening at his sides, felt himself shaking with the urge to punch Gary right in the face, though he wasn't sure why. He spoke through gritted teeth, "You haven't made her very happy tonight."

"Nobody's perfect." He shrugged, and sauntered at the door. "You know I make her happy, Ash. So why don't you cheer her up and figure out why she's mad at me?"

Gary didn't close the door behind him, so Ash rushed up and slammed it. Then opened and slammed it twice more, snarling an feeling Pikachu spark even more fiercely on his shoulder. He returned to his game, pulling out the disk and switching it for something with a lot of guns and exploding heads - something he had gotten for his birthday and rarely played. Today though, as he mashed the A button and watched blood explode out of his enemies, he was beginning to understand the appeal. He found himself eagerly stabbing men to death, blowing up camps with bazookas and machine gunning down anyone who dared stand in the way of him and his mission objective. It was a good three hours before he saved the game and set down the controller.

Pikachu was hiding under his bed, and Ash felt a pang of guilt. He hadn't realized that he had been startled by the gunshots, or, worse, frightened by Ash's anger. The boy crawled under the bed with him, pet his companion softly until Pikachu cuddled up close to him, licking his cheek. He back out, crossing his legs and letting Pikachu settle in his lap. He spent a while petting the little mouse, waiting until the tension had eased from both of them and Ash was feeling back to his usual carefree self.

It was then that he reached for his phone and dialed quickly, grinning to himself as he listened to the ring.

"You had a fight with Gary," he said. "He's moping and raging in his room, so I bet you won. Brock n' me want to go to that laser tag place tonight. Do you want to come? It'll be fun."

There was a long, drawn out sighed over the phone. "Ash, you midterms are just around the corner. We can't go party."

"Laser tag doesn't come with a hangover and I'm sure you won't regret it." Ash chuckled and fell back on his bed. "Besides, even you have to be stressed with midterms coming up, plus that fight with Gary. Hey, you can even pretend _I'm _Gary and feel better every time you shoot me. Doesn't that sound way better than a bowl of Rocky Road ice cream and a marathon of really crappy romance movies?" He paused. "That is what girls do right? Or is that just what happens when you break up with someone?"

"I like chocolate ice cream," she corrected, and he could hear a bit of a smile in her voice. It made his own widen. She sighed again though, not nearly as sad as last time, and her tone was only half hearted as she said, "Ash, I don't know."

"Here, I'm going to be Robin, Brock's going to be the Riddler and you can be Batman. It'll be great." He thought about it for a second, frowning. "Wait, no, crap. I'm Bat-"

"Too late, Ash. I'm coming and I'm going to be Batman." She giggled, and he could hear her grabbing her bag over the line. "I'll be over in a flash."

"Yeah, well, we're not dating you so bring your own money!" he said, barely finished his sentence before she hung up on him. He looked down at Pikachu, who was looking up at him curiously. Ash couldn't help but smile as he said, "Dammit. I wanted to be Batman."

His happy thought only lasted a second, as he quickly swore and ran to grab his bag, speeding down to Brock's room. It probably hadn't been the brightest idea to say Brock was going to be there when he hadn't bothered checking with him first. Thankfully, Brock wasn't busy, and all too happy to come out and play Laser Tag with them. All three were smiling as they piled into Brock's car and drove down Goldenrod's busy streets, going to the whitewashed building just behind a popular burger place. They tumbled out of the car, laughing and joking as they pushed through the glass doors.

"Whoever-makes-it-to-the-counter-first-is-Batman-go!" Ash shouted, charging forward.

Misty was right behind him and slammed into the counter a second behind. Before he could register his name, Misty shoved him out of the way. He quickly countered with a rough shove, something he bet his mother would have told him was too rough. Misty didn't seem to mind, though, laughing as she yanked at him. It wasn't long before the two of them were getting tangled up in each other's arms, barely managing to keep themselves upright as they struggled to the counter and simultaneously tried to stop the other from achieving the same goal. Thankfully, it being Laser Tag, the place was full of children who were being far louder than the two of them, and the worker's behind the counter certainly couldn't care less.

Brock calmly sauntered up to the counter, ignoring the two wrestling teens, held his head high and stated, "Hello, I'm Batman."

A man in his mid twenties began to type on his keyboard, chuckling slightly."Pleasure to meet you so far from Gotham, sir. Who are these two?"

"One's Robin and one's the Riddler." Brock stared at the two of them for a moment, then grinned. "You can tell them which one's which once you sign them in."

Much to Misty's horror, she grabbed the blue piece of plastic that logged her into her gun as "Robin". She did her best to try and get either Ash or Brock to switch with her - both refused, despite all of her best persuasion tactics. She instead opted for revenge, and ran into the Laser Tag room the second she was allowed, racing for the highest point she could find. Unfortunately, the highest point was also the most vulnerable, and after four or five shots to her shoulder, she found a midlevel point that left her pretty well covered, and tried her hand at sniping.

It turned out that she wasn't good at sniping either, and was left drumming her fingers on her gun, muttering, "Freaking Robin. Can't believe that jerk made me Robin." Much to her delight, however, Brock came around the corner, decked out in his laser tag special armor, and a second later she jumped out at him shouting, "This is for the tights, sir!" She opened fire on him and chased him down the hall with her best kamikaze yell, getting a good five or six hits in before retreating.

Laughing and a bit breathless, she ran right into Ash, stumbling back and having only a second to see a delighted smirk on his face. She shot her in the chest, making her suit whine and go dark, and leaving Ash time to run back down the hallway. She spent a lot of time chasing him down, a lot more time missing, and an absolutely embarrassing amount of time staring at the readout on her gun telling her, "You were hit by THE RIDDLER." The other boy must have spent a lot of time in Laser Tag.

By the time they were done, Misty had forgotten all about her troubles from earlier. She shared a terrible meal of hot dogs and soda and cheese fries with the boys, opting to head outside and face the cold rather than staying inside and listening to the kids scream. She had a wonderful time just joking, and talking about school, and speculating on who would win the upcoming contests and matches.

She was sucking the last of cheese sauce off her fingers as she sighed, "We have to do this again. I had such a great time."

"Well, you did let Robin come in something other than last place for one. You know, since you murdered Brock." Ash laughed, and Brock and him jumped up, doing their best imitation of the horrifying homicide inside, racing around the lot with dramatic screams and laser guns firing. Ash slipped and fell, practically bouncing on the concrete and stared up at her with a laugh, seeming to be completely unharmed. "Gees, did the tights really tick you off that much?"

"I had the same issue with my sisters, brought out a lot of buried rage." She sighed, looking up at the barely there stars. For a moment, she wished she was back in Pallet, where she could see the night sky for what it really was other than just a sheet of black washed out by the lights. "Can we just stop time so I don't have to go back to school tomorrow?"

"That's be nice," Brock agreed.

The younger boy grinned. "We should skip."

"Ash, you have a test tomorrow," Misty scolded lightly, half hoping he would come up for a convincing argument as to why they should duck out of class.

It was a silly hope. Ash merely laughed and said, "That's why we should skip."

They piled back into the car, and soon they drove back to the school, each waving goodbye and saying goodnight. Misty stayed up late into the night, curled up on her side, her fingers drumming on her side table to the beat of songs she liked. She spent most of her time thinking about how much fun she had with Gary and Brock, compared to the rather boring time she had with Gary in the theater. She felt a sinking realization that she didn't quite like Gary, and that she didn't really enjoy hanging out with him for long periods of time.

Sh realized that her and Gary's relationship had an expiration date, and it was coming up quick.

* * *

*I'm a liar.


	18. Test

Hey, BSR, this chapter is looking kind of short. Haven't you been away for three thousand years?

No. I haven't. That's dumb. You're dumb for thinking it.

Though, it is interesting you chose three thousand, because that's how many words are in this chapter, roughly. My chapters in this fic are usually around 5-7 thousand, so you may be wondering why it's so short. Well, aside from the fact that I've received a few messages that read like a eulogy and I wanted to stop the grieving now, this seemed like the best place to end it. Had I been thinking ahead, I think it would have worked best to cut a bit out here and there and tacked it on to the last chapter, but I didn't.

But I made this for you. For YOU, pokemon fandom. Because I love you. I have college and stuff. I have frien-okay, no, but I could probably make friends if I tried and there's an anime club on campus and everything but nevermind that's not important. See, this part is hard to write, because I really wanted to get to Act 3 with all the fun, lighthearted romance and stuff, and this part is stupid and drama and all high schooly, even though I tried my best to write a high school fic that wasn't high schooly because I'm a stupid face.

But I pushed through. I did it. I did it all for you.

So you love it, guys.

* * *

There were a lot of things coming up.

Midterms were first, and most important. Of course midterms were most important. That was what she had to focus on. Sure, maybe she could let her mind wander to the big competitions the school was gearing up for. After all, there was nothing quite like the school wide contests. Beautiful costumes, inventive presentations, gorgeous battles...it was what she wanted to do when she graduated, and this was the perfect time to practice. So, sure, she was allowed to focus on that. There's nothing wrong with that.

And, you know, if she had time she could think about the dance. It wasn't like she was obsessed with it or anything. That would be silly. And dances didn't really matter, not when she compared it to the contest or her midterms. Those related to her future. Dances were silly. She was in high school. No one was ever going to care who she danced with that one time. Hey, whoever she danced with would probably be a brief memory in the back of her mind. She wasn't going to date them. Or marry them. Or have adorable green haired babies with them.

Right. Anyway, she was most certainly not thinking about the dance. She was thinking about midterms. And contests. And important things that mattered to her future. So, when she caught sight of Drew and raced down the hallway, almost skipping with a schoolgirl enthusiasm, she was doing it so they could talk about the contest and midterms, not anything about the dance. Because dances were silly. And she cared about important things. And it wasn't like she was scared to ask Drew out or anything.

"Hey Drew!" Was her voice shaking? No, she thought it was steady. Kind of steady. It was totally shaking. Maybe if she talked fast enough and used all the words she could he wouldn't notice. "You're ready for the contest, right? You better be. The competition looks rough this year. They want it formal too, with costumes. I've got the prettiest dress, got it cheap too."

He smiled back at her, warm and gentle, and she hoped the little pleasurable shiver that went down her spine wasn't noticeable. His voice made her heart beat fast. She knew there was no way he could hear that. No matter how loud it sounded in her ears. "I just wish I didn't have to wear a tux. They're always too loose or too tight."

"I'm sure you'll look nice," she comforted. He would look nice. What guy didn't look great in a tux? And Drew was cute. She was sure he knew how to pick out a tux that would fit on him perfectly. If not, maybe she could help. She'd helped her little brother Max find a tux, once. It would probably be a lot more fun with Drew. Harder though. It's not like she could help him change or anything. No, that's be absolutely inappropriate...Oh, Arceus. Was he talking? How long had he been talking for?

"Of course I'll look nice." He flipped his hair. She wondered if he thought that made him attractive. It didn't. He was all stuck up and just because his hair was all flowy when he flipped it didn't outweigh the fact that it really did look stuck up and show offy and not at all sexy in the very least. "It'll just be uncomfortable."

"You'll have to wear a tux to the dance though," she pointed out. The Winter Formal was extremely formal, no nice pants or long skirts. Though there wasn't really a dress code, it was expected that everyone would put on their second nicest outfits, with the first reserved for prom. Well, the underclassmen all put on their very best. The seniors rarely tended to go, much preferring to save all their money for prom, and those who did never dressed nearly so nicely as everyone else did. Some of the more unpleasant seniors liked to snicker at the formally dressed kids while they loafed around in jeans and short sleeved shirts.

"Yeah, but that's different. I'm not coordinating in it." He laughed. "I can dance just fine in a tux. It's coordinating that's tough."

"Yeah." She bit her lip uncertainly. A hand came up to absently tug at her hair, though she stopped herself before she started twirling it. That would look way too stupid. She looked at him from under her lashes, taking a deep breath to calm herself, and asked, "My dress for the dance is really elegant and pretty and…you'll see me in it, won't you?"

He looked at her for a long moment, and she waited, absolutely terrified. She was sure it was going to happen. He was going to laugh at her, tease her, say she had a crush on him. He would reject her too. He was going to tell her that he would never go to the dance with her, not in a million years. Then he would find a really pretty girl, like Dawn, and he would ask her out instead, and May would have to sit at home with a huge container of ice cream, sobbing, knowing she was going to die alone with a hundred meowths.

He didn't though. He just shrugged. "Probably."

She grinned. "Because you're going to the dance and I'm going to the dance."

"Yup."

"And we could…" She swallowed. Here it was. The moment of truth. All she had to do was ask and even if he said no it wasn't a big deal or anything because she was pretty and nice nd someone would like her even if he didn't and he wasn't so much of a jerk that he would laugh at her, right? "Probably see each other there."

May immediately walked away, verged off down a hallway and found a locker to beat her head against.

* * *

Tutoring Ash could be painful. Most of the time, it was ordinary work. It wasn't incredibly fun, but she could usually leave without being furious or sad or hopeless. Ash was doing average in most of his classes, and she doubted he would manage to do any better no matter who was teaching him. As it was, he was studying more than most kids she knew to ensure he kept his scholarship. Most of his time was spent training, at least that's what he told her, and if experience transferred over to any of his classes it wasn't showing.

The problem happened when Ash spent a few hours struggling to understand a concept, failed, and proceeded to give up. This ranged from him calmly closing his book and asking to move on to something else, to getting angry and pounding his fist against his book, to throwing himself down on the bed and burying his head in the covers and refusing to do anything else until she agreed to go down to the stables with him so he could continue his riding lessons with her. Those nights tended to end with her feeling like a terrible teacher and Ash feeling stupid despite all her protests to the contrary.

"Ash, you're better than this!" Misty sighed, glaring down at the boy who had resorted to burying his head in his pillows once again. Pikachu was hiding after the two of them had yelled at one another. "Midterms start tomorrow and you're nowhere near ready! How are you forgetting all this?"

"I've never passed midterm," Ash mumbled. She sat down on the bed in hopes she could hear him better. He rolled over in response, blinking watery eyes up at her. She resisted the urge to give him a hug. "There's no point in my trying anymore, Mist. Give it up. It was a good shot but you can't accomplish something that's impossible. Good try, you did better than most of the others but sometimes it's just not possible."

He looked sadly at Pikachu, who had crept out from under his bed and was now rubbing her cheek softly against his. Ash pulled her into his arms, and she licked him. "I tried, buddy, but it just won't work. Life is over for us. We'll have to be hobos. It's okay, though, you can do tricks for coins and we can live on ramen and wild berries."

Misty tugged him up by his shirt, so he sat, still cuddling Pikachu against his chest. She glared at him, right in the eyes, and spoke as slowly and clearly as she could manage: "Ash, I got you an A on an essay. If you don't have faith in yourself, at least have a little in me." He looked at her, eyes big and round and innocent and still on the verge of tears, so she groaned and looked away, sorting through her bag in hopes she could find something to cheer him up. "I just need to get your mind off of this. Once you relax a little, you'll be fine. You like chocolate?"

He grinned, sliding into the chair at his desk. "Yeah."

She pulled out a bag full of candy coated chocolate bits and shook it enticingly. It worked with training pokemon, so, even though it might have been a bit simplistic, she could see it working. "You get a question right, you get an piece of chocolate. Don't think about the test, think about the chocolate."

He grinned a bit and reached for the candy. Misty quickly slapped his hand away. "I like this kind of studying."

"If this cuts study time in half, I'll be so pissed for not thinking of it sooner."

It didn't cut study time in half, but it did make quite the difference. He wasn't any better than his best day, but with his mind successfully torn away from the concept of failing, the information came to him much quicker. She wondered how on earth he could be a decent battler if his nerves got to him like this. His first big test and he was already panicked. She couldn't stop herself from asking as she put her books away, "Is it just school that makes you nervous? I mean, you don't get nervous when you have big battles or anything?"

He thought for a moment. "Cute girls get me nervous."

She crossed her arms. "You seem perfectly fine to me."

"I know." Ash quickly ducked the paperback book she tossed and laughed. "No, but, I mean, you don't act all...not girly. I mean when girls get really close to you and touch you a lot and blink their eyes and keep trying to get you to ask you out on a date. You don't do that to me. So, unless you start doing that, I wouldn't get nervous. And I guess I get nervous for battles and stuff, but it's mostly just excited. I don't freeze up like I do with tests or with girls."

Misty stuck her tongue out at him. "You're lucky I have a boyfriend, or I'd use that information against you."

"How? I told you I only get nervous around cute girls."

Thankfully, having a boyfriend did not prevent her from wrestling him onto the bed and smashing his face in with a pillow.

* * *

When the day of the test came around Misty's pep talk was simple, quick, and backhandedly inspiring:

She took up both of her hands in his, staring Ash dead in the eye. "Three things: One, you've done well enough in your class that even a failing grade will leaving you at a passing grade over all. No pressure, you're safe. Two, if you finish your test completely, the teacher will give you a bag of candy because I asked her to, so actually answer every question. Three, I know you can do this. You're not a complete moron."

"Thanks, Mist." His eyebrows creased. "I think."

* * *

The week of midtems was a bit stressful. She didn't have problems with her tests. Despite Ash, Dawn and May all asking for her help studying, she had plenty of time to study on her own. She constantly texted Gary, but he never responded. Her calls went straight into his answering machine, and by the time Wednesday rolled around, she had given up on him. The week was meant for cramming, after all, despite the teachers telling them it was the worst way to study, so Misty spent her week with her nose in a book, imagining that Gary was doing the same.

After all, she couldn't really blame him for studying so hard. Unlike her, he wasn't planning to jump straight into a Gym, or training with the Elite 4. He wanted to be a professor of pokemon research, and that meant at least four more years of school, possibly more if he wanted to go for his doctorate. That was the kind of field where the college you went to mattered, and where your ranking in class could lose you a job. Sure, anyone giving out a job wouldn't look at high school records, but the colleges did. and if he didn't have his study habits down now, college wouldn't be a good time to learn them.

After a long ride on Rydel's bike, she felt his arms circle around her. If she hadn't seen him coming, she would have elbowed him in the groin, but decided not to ruin the moment by telling him that. After all, his chin was on her shoulder, smelling like aftershave and cologne, and it was chilly enough that she didn't mind the warmth of his body next to hers.

"How have your midterms been going?" Gary asked. "You're done now, aren't you?"

"I finished yesterday, not that you'd know." She turned around and pouted at him playfully. "You've been too busy with all your scholarships to big universities lately. You haven't been paying attention to me at all. I just ask for a little call now and then, but your future and livelihood is so much more important. Don't you know a high school fling is way more important that your career?" She giggled, scooping up some light, powdered some in her bare hands, and blew it at him. The wind carried it away before it even came close.

"It's not just a high school fling, Misty." He took her hand and pulled her close, the rest of the snow scattering to the ground. Her hand felt awkward in his, soaked from the snow, and she could feel water sliding from her fingers as he laced their hands together. Gary's eyes were sharp on hers. He looked almost angry, with his face so serious. "I love you. I know it's fast for you, but it's been a few months and I really, really care about you. I don't want this to be a high school fling."

"Gary, don't do this." She tied to tug her hand away, but he was gripping her tight. Mew, was she shaking? This was such a stupid thing to be shaking over. She took a deep breath to calm herself, and tried to explain. "I care about you and vice versa, but I don't think we know each other well enough to be in love."

He laughed, squeezing her hand. She suddenly wish she had elbowed him in the groin for sneaking up on her. "I know everything you like, all your history and what you want, what you hate, what else is there to know?"

"Oh, you know everything I like and hate? That's awfully quick. I don't think we've talked about everything I've experienced. Speaking of which, I don't remember telling you every detail of my life." Her mind raced for a second, as she tried to remember the things she had and hadn't told him. "Did I ever tell you, when I was a kid, I actually crawled into a gyarados's mouth? I was terrified of them for years before one of them got really sick, and I was the only one home, and I had to get close to him in order to save his life. Never told you that."

He was grinning. She wanted to punch him. "Alright, not _everything_, but-"

"My religion, my beliefs, my ideals, how I feel about things. We never really talked about how I felt about stuff. Or you. Emotions never came up much." She frowned. "Most things didn't come up much. I hardly remember our dates. I remember talking about school. I remember flirting. A lot of flirting. I don't remember a lot of serious talks. This is crazy, acting like we're in love or something. You don't know me and I don't know you. Gary, I'm hardly sure of who _I_ am. I'm not even entirely sure what I want to do with my life. How can I figure out someone else before I know me?"

"I do know you, and even if I don't, I love you." He leaned close, going in for a kiss. "I know I do."

"Stop it!" she snapped, snatching her hand back. She wiped in on her overly large t-shirt, hating the damp, strange feeling clinging to it. "Let it go and let me have you for a little longer! Gary, if you keep this up I can't _date_ you. Don't you get that? Can't you understand I'm not ready for this? If nothing else, you know me enough to know that I can't do this. Don't prove your sister right! Gary, plea-"

"You're nervous, I get it. Dad said you'd get like this." He took a step and kissed her softly, then pulled away with a smile. Another mewdamned smile. "Marry me."

"You lost me," she whispered. She stumbled back against the bike rack. Suddenly, she wasn't angry. She wasn't furious. She didn't feel anything, honestly. It felt like her insides had suddenly been carved out, leaving her empty and strangely light. She was almost dizzy from it. She shook her head, both to clear it and to answer him. "I told you to stop and you didn't. We're done. I told you…damn. I told…you stupid _jerk_. I told you. And now it's over."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Are you that much of a fucking child?" Her voice was eerily calm, no venom or hate. All she could feel was shock. She stared at his face, already so mature, with the slightest shadow of stubble growing in from his morning shave. If she hadn't know him, if he hadn't opened his mouth, she could have guess he was in his early twenties instead of his late teens. Misty rubbed her temples. "Bring home a different trophy for your parents. You lost me. I refuse to marry you and if we stay together you won't stop hounding me until I do."

"But I-" He took a step forward, and she held her hand out.

"No," she glared out at the frozen ground. "Go home."

He half laughed as he spoke, wide eyed. "Misty, I-"

She glared, and there went his words. There went his smile. And, strangely, there seemed to go his attractiveness, his maturity, that tingly, happy, proud feeling she used to have when she was with him and remembered they were dating."Gary, get the hell out of here and go home."

He left and it was over.

Misty wondered if it was weird she didn't cry.

* * *

You love it or I will stab you in the face.

(Is that a bad way to address my audience? The last one had a lot more sexual violence and cursing, which I've been told is unacceptable. I assume this was a good fix.)


	19. Talk

Goddamn. Look at that. That's speed. That's beauty right there. I updated nice and quick for you guys. Probably because we're nearing the end.

The next chapter is going to take forever, you know, having to set up for the nuclear holocaust and all, and figuring out how long May can survive in her cave...a lot of math.

* * *

Misty wasn't answering her phone. She wasn't in his room for tutoring. She wasn't in the stable. She wasn't in the pool. He asked May to check the girl's dorm, and discovered Misty wasn't there either. Despite the endless barrage of texts and phone calls he sent her, he hadn't gotten the slightest response. It had only been a few hours, it was eight o' clock now, and Misty had been out later than that before. The school wouldn't do anything about it, and the cops definitely wouldn't. And, though it might have been a little stupid to worry about someone who hadn't even been missing for a day, Ash was worried.

He was angry, too. So, with Pikachu riding on his shoulder, he marched down to Gary's room, slamming open the door and snarling, "You hurt her."

Gary didn't even look up. He sat at his desk, drinking a so and reading a textbook. His hair wasn't styled, or even washed. His face was greasy. His clothes were wrinkled and mismatched - pajamas in the middle of the day. He coughed awkwardly. "I didn't mean to."

"She called me crying, and you went and you proved her right. She was scared and worried and told you to stop and you did it anyway. Now she's…she's Mew knows where because you hurt her."

"I didn't mean to." He shrugged.

"I don't care what you meant!" He shouted, fists balling up at his sides. "What does it matter what you meant? You went and did the stupid thing anyway. You hurt her anyway. You had to have known it would hurt her! You can't have really thought that this…that this stupid plan would work out!"

Gary sighed and stood, running a hand through his hair. "Ash, I really loved her. I cared about her and-"

"You didn't."

"How would you know?" He glared, his own hands clenching into fists.

"Because that's not how you act when you love someone!"

"You are such a dumbass!" he shouted. He dropped his head and glared at the ground, speaking softly, "Love doesn't make it all okay. It doesn't fix stuff. I made a mistake. I care about her, but I made a mistake. And now it's over. That's it."

"I know tha-" Pikachu shocked him lightly, and he cut himself off. "Fine. You're right. What are you going to do to make it right?"

Gary snorted. "What do you mean? I'm moving on."

"You made a mistake, you don't try and fix it, you're not trying to make anything better. Yeah, Gary, I feel the love." He glared. "You're done with her, then? Ready for another pawn?"

"Ash, you…asshole," he seethed. "That's not what it was."

"That's what it turned into, and that's what you acted on, so that's what it was." Ash paced for a moment, then turned. "You could have done a million things different. You could be trying to save this instead of running away with the first sign of trouble. If you loved her, you sure as hell don't now. You come near her again, and you're in for it."

"What? You'll beat me up?" He smirked, striding up to him. "Go ahead and try. I've beaten you a hundred times and I'll do it again."

"I can't beat you up, Gary. But I can beat you in a battle, and I can make your life a hell with a sentence, so you stay away."

He laughed. "Oh, can you?"

"Want to find out what Lance's protégé can do?" Ash glared, and Gary's smirk fell.

"You wouldn't. For a girl, Ketchum? You'd ruin me over a girl?"

Ash shook his head. "No, but I would for the League. For the rest of the girls you want to go after. Your family isn't that sneaky, Gary. Everyone knows the monopoly they have. Everyone knows they're not doing anything with it in hopes no one will stop them. Everyone's waiting for a chance to take your whole family down. I don't like it but…your sister came after me. We both know she never thought of me as anymore than a little kid, but she asked me out every week, kept trying to hold my hand, and…I can't let your family keep doing that."

"I thought we were friends."

Ash nodded awkwardly. "We…I think we still are, Gary. But, well, you wanted to be grown up and responsible and thinking about our careers. This is it. This is business. I see you going after anyone with League potential again, I'm taking it down. This can't happen. It's not personal, it's my job." He paused awkwardly. "Or it will be. I'm sorry."

"You bastard." Gary shook, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were white. "You disgusting little traitor, I swear, I'll-"

Ash left and closed the door behind hm. He was on the phone almost instantly, calling Misty for what felt like the hundredth time that day. His phone was still blank, no text messages from May or Brock or Dawn saying they had gotten through, and still nothing from Misty telling him not to worry. The phone went into the answering machine, and, furious, he redialed, cursing under his breath that she wouldn't just pick up and tell him not to worry, tell him she was fine and on her way home and had just spent the day in an ice cream shop. He was pretty sure girls did that, during break ups, go to ice cream stores and eat until they feel better.

He had called four times by the time he ran into Brock. He finally didn't get the answering machine.

"Where are you?" Ash blurted, not giving her the chance to even say hello. "Brock and I will come take you home."

"I'm in a coffee shop, calm down." He could practically hear her rolling her eyes over the phone, like she hadn't gone missing after a break up and refused to answer any messages. He scowled. He didn't think he was wrong to be worried. She spoke before he could argue with her, though, "I'm not staring down a cliff wondering what death feels like. It's been over for a while. It's like when the tooth you've been wiggling for a while pops out. It's surprising, but it's nothing new and it's kind of a relief."

He sighed, rubbing his forehead. She sounded sane enough. "You're sure you're not going to throw yourself off the nearest cliff?"

"It's Goldenrod. I'd need a car to find the nearest cliff." She laughed a bit bitterly. "But, yeah, I'm fine. Just mad at myself and him for not letting it last a while longer. Had to get off that crack sometime, though." He heard her sip at her drink. "Chai's good here."

"Where's here?"

She giggled. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Brock leaned forward towards the phone on the table. "Misty, you're on speaker. I can hear the trains. Do you need a ride?"

There was a long bit of quiet on the other end, a few sips of chai, and finally, "Okay, but don't say anything about my face being puffy and red. It's not from crying. It's just cold out."

"We can bring May, if you don't mind. Or Dawn. Melody wants to come too for some weird reason. She keeps texting me."

"It's because she's a gambling whore." Misty sniffed. "She wanted me to break up with Gary so I could go out with Ash and she could win the bet."

"Then we won't bring her."

"That's probably for the best." She cleared her throat, tried to speak, and upon it cracking cleared her throat again. "Um, if you wouldn't mind, could you maybe send May in alone? Just for a while. There are some things I want to talk about alone with her. You know what, it's stupid, it can wait. I can talk to her later when-"

"I'll call May right now," Brock broke in, his voice slow and deep and calming. "I'm sure she won't mind. I'll bring a book and stay warm in the car while you two talk, okay? Ash and I will wait outside. You can come out whenever you need. We don't have anything else to do today, alright? Is that going to be okay, Misty?"

"Yeah. Thanks guys."

* * *

"I can't believe she wants me," May said for the millionth time, her head resting against the car window. "I mean, I thought we were close and friends and everything, but she never talks about this stuff, you know? I don't think she talks about it with anybody. If she's going to talk to someone, it really shouldn't be me. It really shouldn't, guys. I don't know anything about this. I don't know anything about anything, definitely not guy stuff. I've never even been on a date. It should be Dawn. Not me. Kyogre, I can't believe she wants me."

Ash shrugged. "You've known her for the longest, right? I mean, aside from her sisters, and it's not like they're here."

"She's not close to her sisters," Brock argued. "Even if they were here, she wouldn't ant to talk to them, especially not about relationships."

"Well, there you go." Ash rubbed her shoulder. "You've known her longest, probably know her best. She doesn't want to talk to her sisters, so you're the only choice."

She groaned. "That's not comforting, Ash! That just means I'm the only one around, so it has to be me. I'm the best choice because all the other choices are even worse. I can't believe she wants me. I'm going to mess it all up and she's going to throw herself on the train tracks and I'm going to go crazy from watching her die. This is a horrible idea. We seriously need to find someone else."

"Misty didn't ask for someone else. She asked for you. It's not like she ever wants to talk to people. If she thought everyone would suck to talk to, she wouldn't talk to anyone. She wouldn't call you. She'd just keep it inside until she exploded, like she does with everything else." Ash rubbed the back of his neck. "You know, I think that's what scares me most, that's she's actually talking to someone. That means it's so bad she can't keep it in. It's so bad she couldn't even call us without her voice breaking. That can't be good. she doesn't seem like she cries a lot."

"I've only seen her cry once," May murmured. "Maybe she just…maybe she's just figuring it out she shouldn't bottle it up anymore. It can't be that bad a break up, right? I mean, she didn't know him that long. I don't think they…you know…or anything. They weren't that serious. I mean, she can't be that broken up about it. She's probably just…" May looked at Ash, who was clenching his fists. "What's wrong? She didn't…she didn't do anything with him, did she? He's not telling anyone they-"

"It's not about sex," he said. 'I'm sure Misty will tell you. I shouldn't say anything."

They car drove on in silence for a few moment, before May whispered, "Gary's not saying anything bad about her, is he? He's not…not spreading rumors or saying anything bad?"

"No he's not. And he won't."

"How do you know?"

"May, could you…don't, please?" He put his head in his hands. "Gary's fine. Don't talk about Gary. Don't think about Gary. Focus on Misty. Her ex-boyfriend is under control."

May glanced at Brock. "How is this happening? This is the most dramatic thing that's happened in my entire life. This is insane. Apparently, it's so dramatic, people can't even _talk _about it. I'm in a soap opera. I'm the character who has nothing going on in their life, and is just there for exposition. You know how a character wanders in and has absolutely no idea what's going on, and everyone else just explains everything in one giant info dump because there's no other way to do it? That's who I am right now. I'm the biggest plot device ever."

He pulled into the parking lot and shrugged. "Well, it has to be someone. Besides, you've got your own story, don't you? Misty seems to think you've got something going on with Drew."

"Don't remind me." She heaved herself out of the car. "Don't leave unless someone's dying. My phone is on, so if someone's dying you better call. I don't have cab fare or anything, and I don't think I'm strong enough to get back to school. Don't you dare leave me here."

Brock chuckled. "You really are a nervous wreck, aren't you?"

She blushed and slammed the door, rushing through the cold to get inside the station. She knew the café. It was one of Misty's favorites, ad she'd taken May there more than once. They'd walked there, and even though she'd made it, May's legs hurt for weeks after. Still, she remembered the food and drinks being good - if a little too sweet. That was probably why Misty liked it. She searched the usual table, the one close to the kitchen, but she wasn't there. A few more minutes of searching, and she spotted Misty hiding in an archway, curled up against the stone. She sat down next to her, an had no idea what to say. Instead, she waited.

It didn't take long.

"Hey, May?" Misty looked up at her quietly. "Remember that time, two years ago, when you caught me crying? You wanted to know what was wrong and I kicked you out?"

"Yeah, I remember."

She swallowed. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't...you were just trying to be nice. And I yelled at you. I know if I ever asked you'd be there for me. Comfort me and everything. I just...you know I'm not good at that kind of stuff. Because..." Misty let out a long sigh. "It's not important. I'm just sorry."

May took her hand, squeezing it gently. "You're my friend, Misty. If it's upsetting you, if it's part of who you are, it is important. I don't care if we stay here and talk all night. You're one of my best friends, you really are. You made my freshman year bearable. You did so much for me. You know I can't handle so much teasing and you tone it back for me." She laughed. "You keep trying to take care of me, but you don't have to. I'm not that scared little freshman from the first day I'm school. I'm a big girl, and I can take care of you too, if you ever need it."

"If we were going to get me feeling better I'd have to talk a lot." She grinned teasingly at May. "It'll get boring."

"So talk a lot. We've got time."

She nibbled her lower lip for a minute, then sighed. "Alright. Well. I was sent off to boarding school the second my mom found one that would take me. My dad died when I was really little. I was four, I think. Anyway, Mom got stressed with four kids in the house, and when she noticed that I liked pokemon so much, it was a blessing. I got into schools with scholarships. She barely had to pay any money, and she had to take care of three girls instead of four. I mean, she constantly pressured Daisy and Lily and Violet to do better in school, so I can't act like it was all against me. With some scholarships and bank loans, my sisters got into school here. When Mom died, the inheritance helped pay it all off and get us through. My sisters were really sad, but I…didn't really care. I was never with Mom, really.

"That's pretty horrible, isn't it? I didn't care that my mom died. But I never saw her. I didn't know her. If anything, I kind of hate her a little. It's not her fault, and I get it, but she sent me away. I just got some phone calls. A couple care packages." She looked at May, expecting to see some kind of anger or hate, but May was still listening, still calm, her hand still warm in Misty's.

She continued, "See, my parents were basically all my teachers. And they were teachers, so they thought all the school stuff was important. When my mom called we didn't talk about anything but school, she was always telling me how proud she was that I was doing well in school. So, you know, why focus on anything else? That's all anyone cared about. I focused on school. That was my whole life. My everything. Getting good grades, getting a good career, and not breaking any rules because I'd lose my scholarship and everyone would be mad at me." Her eyes flicked over to May. "Should I stop?"

Her friend grinned, bumping Misty's shoulder with hers. "Of course not. You have to tell me how you went from never breaking any rules to sneaking me out of my room to jump in the pool."

She laughed, cutting herself off when her voice cracked and her eyes started burning. " It's Lorelei's fault. Lorelei started taking an interest in middle school. And, suddenly…Mew, May, I was invulnerable. None of the teachers wanted to mess with me. The school wasn't going to risk getting rid of me. I would be their best advertising campaign ever. Can you imagine how many parents would fight to get into the school that produced an Elite? I mean, I still put all my work into my grades, because I couldn't think of anything else more important, but all the other stuff? Small fights with students, sneaking out, defying the dress code, even skipping class. As long as I battled well and kept my grades up, they didn't blink an eye. It didn't matter. No one would ever have to know about that. All they had to know was my grades. By the time you came around, well…I didn't have many friends. You looked scared and shy. You seemed nice. I was lonely. I thought I knew enough about boarding school that I could be your mentor."

"You've a good mentor. I've been having a great time here, and a big part of that is thanks to you." May hugged her tight. "You've been having a weird year, haven't you?"

"Yeah." Misty swallowed a sob, but it wasn't long before it bubbled up again. She hugged May just as fiercely, burying her head in the younger girl's chest as she started to cry. "I just don't know what to do, May. I thought I knew what I was doing. and I was kind of scared, and maybe once or twice I thought about doing something other than school and a great job, but…but stupid Ash came along and messed everything up. Everything! He made me think about adventuring and about doing all kinds of…of pointless crap that I ended up _liking_."

May held her for a while, letting her cry. Her hand rubbed Misty's back gently, and when the girl wasn't shaking anymore, May asked, "Why on earth did you go for Gary? He's…you know how he is. You knew who he was. Why'd you stay with him? It was so _weird, _Misty. You didn't seem like yourself. You seemed happy enough most of the time, so I didn't say anything. Maybe I should have, though. If I wasn't so focused on Drew and had been a better friend-"

"Oh, _Mew, _May, don't do that." Misty pulled away, eyes wide. "This isn't your fault at all!"

"But I-"

"No. Don't you dare." Misty shook her head fierce. "It was all me. I was trying to get back on track with the life I was supposed to have. Ever since I came to high school I've had to hear that my sisters were whores and sluts, and I decided I wouldn't give anyone the chance to say the same about me. And that's the weird thing - I don't even care if someone sleeps around. It's their choice. But I didn't want that to be me, being taunted and shamed for it. I didn't want people to hate me because I was sleeping around."

She groan, putting her head in her hands. "And somewhere down the line I just decided...I was so stupid. I just looped in dating with the school thing, matched it up with getting a job. I thought I'd do dating right. I'd wait for a really good guy to ask me out, the kind with a future that would have made my parents proud if I brought him home, y'know? And Gary was that."

"Gary was a good guy?"

Misty snorted. "No, he wasn't a good guy. He was a guy with a future. He was a guy who knew how to put on manners. He was rich and smart, has a great job waiting for him, and half the girls in the school would kill for a chance to actually date him. Not just sleep with him, but have him actually say that they were his girlfriend. I mean, I liked him because I felt like I was doing something right. That was stable, you know? It felt like I was winning the competition of having a decent life. I have all these feelings about what I should be doing with my life, and if I should mess everything up, but at least I was doing that relationship thing right."

May frowned uncertainly, speaking slowly, "Don't take this the wrong way, Misty, but that's the stupidest thing you ever said."

She laughed, wiping her eyes. "I know, right? But it's true. I just want things to go back to the way things were. I don't want to deal with all this stupid emotional stuff telling me to run off and travel the world and screw myself over. I just want to forget relationships entirely. Do the school stuff, do the job stuff, don't worry about anything else. That can come later."

"I…Misty, maybe you're looking at this backwards." The redhead stared at her, so she took a deep breath and continued. "I know…I know you're really focused on school, and you have an opportunity to make a lot of money. But, if you were in the Elite, you'd spend most of your time doing paper work and dealing with battle laws. After that, you'd be at formal events and parties all the time trying to get League funding or get bills passed or whatever else it is political people do. And then, every could of months, a few trainers will fight you. Does that…does that sound like something you want to do?"

"Champion Lance fights crime around the region. He doesn't have to do any of that."

"Yeah, but the Elites do. The champions do that kind of thing, and only the champions." May bit her lip. "I think I know you pretty well, Misty. Maybe not enough to say this, but I think you'd hate being an Elite. I think going down that path won't make you happy, and you're doing it because you never actually bothered taking the time to figure out who you were. I think the only reason Gary made you happy was because he was good looking and rich, and that Ash is driving you insane because he has everything you actually want and you're too much of a coward to take it."

Misty frowned. "I'm a coward?"

"Honestly? You kind of are." May sighed. "I mean, Mew, Misty, you actually know exactly what you want! You don't want to travel and take a year to find yourself, mooching off your family and sing it as an excuse to goof around for a year. You actually want to go the full mile. Living off a stipend from a researcher, spending days in the woods, travelling, learning, only going into cities when it's necessary. That's something people _do_. it doesn't make a lot of money, and it's not glamorous, and it's not something just anyone can pull off. But you've got a chance for it! You've even got a Gym waiting for you if it all goes wrong. It's something you want to do, and it's only the slightest bit risky, and you're just too damned scared to pull it off."

"Maybe."

She said firmly, "Not maybe. It's true, and you know it, and it's why you're so stupidly jealous of Ash."

"Please stop." She grabbed May's hand again, squeezing it tight. "You're right. You've done so much for me, but it's too much now. Please stop. Please."

They sat in silence for a few moments. "How about we get a coffee and head home so you can think for a bit?"

"Sure." Misty slowly stood, then helped May to her feet. "My treat."


	20. Party

So, I decided to go all NaNoWriMo on this bad boy's ass, and actually force myself to sit down and write. As such, at day 9, I'm at 50,000 words. There's about four or five more chapters of this, and we're all done. Strap in folks, we're in for the final stretch!

The switch to Medieval Times may be a bit sudden, but I'll think you'll adjust and enjoy it fairly quickly.

* * *

_"We should have a party in your room."_

_"What?"_

_"We'll have a party. In your room. Or mine. Well, probably yours. Mine's not as neat as yours. Yours is bigger too, since you're supposed to have two people in it. Mine's just a single."_

_"I'm not really in the dancing mood, Ash. Some bad stuff has been happening lately, if you haven't noticed."_

_"That's why we need a dance party."_

_"I'd rather just eat chocolate and ice cream like a normal person."_

_"No way! You're better than that. Besides, I'll even pay for everything!"_

_"You weren't planning on paying before?"_

* * *

Misty's mind was fairly scrambled over the next few days. Not because of the break up, oddly, that was just about the last thing on her mind, but from the upcoming Young Trainers Tournament. The high school hosted it once a year, and, though no grades actually came from it, plenty of people watched. Several League officials, gym leaders, and career trainers would stop by to watch the students battle. The League officials and teachers and trainers would often have notepads in their hands, jotting down notes and talking to their favorites once the competition ended.

She never usually worried about the contest, not really, because Lorelei already had her eye on her. Her future wasn't really at stake. Well, it was, but it didn't seem like anything to worry about. She was good at competitions. She had won a few times, and never came in anything below third place. Of course, she never had Ash Ketchum there before. He was worrying enough, with Master Lance keeping an eye on him, but more disturbing still was the fact that she had never seen him battle, had no idea what strategies he used, and wasn't even sure if he had a type preference.

She was fairly sure he was a multi-type user, most likely started with the Pikachu he kept at his side and had branched out into whatever he could catch. His training sessions were always with Lance and always private, and the aftermath didn't give her any clues. Lance's dragons tore up whatever field they used, it didn't matter if Ash was using a caterpie from the Viridian Forest or a Charizard from the world's finest breeders, Lance's team would leave so many kind of destruction behind she couldn't tell the difference.

Of course, she could always ask him. That was the logical thing to do. He was right in front of her after all. He was saddling up a rapidash he was fond of, one he had started riding while giving her lessons. She had her hands under her chin as she watched him ease the bridle over its head, trying to figure out how to ask him things about his training style without sounding like she was trying to get an edge on him in the up-coming competition.

He turned to her, grinning. "Alright, get on up."

She blinked, startled out of her thoughts. She looked around for her usual ponyta, and, seeing it hadn't been brought out, asked, "Do you want me to saddle him up for myself? You know, you're supposed to tell me beforehand instead of letting me sit here like an idiot. You've always told me before."

He put the reins over the rapidash's head and took her by the shoulders, guiding her over to the large pokémon. "Well, your ponyta recently evolved. So, instead of finding you a new one, I figured we would let you start practicing on something a bit bigger. I rode him myself about a week ago, to see how crazy he was from evolving, but he's as calm as ever. He took it really well. So, since he's still himself and still likes you, we should be able to use him just fine. You can see how fast a rapidash can actually run."

She pulled back, eyes wide. "Oh, no. It was bad enough you grabbed a water trainer and shoved me on a fire type. There's no way I'm getting on that thing, Ash. It'll kill me! I mean, look at it!"

"Calm down. He's still the same pokémon." Ash pressed her hand against his flank, letting her feel the pleasant heat that radiated from it. "You can touch the flames on him mane and tail still, you can stand next to him without feeling way too hot. He knows you're still beginning. He won't do anything bad. Besides, even if he did decide to act up, which he won't, I'll be right behind you. Nothing's going to go wrong as long as you don't freak out and do something stupid."

She turned, cocking her head to the side. "And by right behind me, you mean…?"

"In the saddle, right behind you. Dancer's big enough now that it shouldn't be a problem to carry both of us. Neither of us are really tall or really fat, and with his breeding and training he probably has the power to carry two more people like us without hurting himself. So, you get up, I'll get up behind you, and I can show you what it's like to really ride a rapidash."

She shook her head, stepping back, her words coming out in a rush. "No way, Ash. This is crazy in, like, a million different ways. First off, I'm still really new at riding. I've only galloped twice, and that was on a ponyta. I've never ridden a rapidash. I've never ridden anything bigger than a ponyta. Well, I mean, yeah, I've ridden gyarados before, but that's completely different! And that's in the water, I like the water. You know, you don't fall off a gyarados into your water and break a leg. That happens if you fall off something that runs all over the land. Besides all that, who even actually rides with two people on a horse? It's got to be weird and awkward. I mean, especially with the two of us. It's going to be really, really awkward."

"I've ridden in the same saddle as lots of people. Some girls, some guys, some adults and some kids. All different ages. It's only awkward for a few minutes, and then it's just a really fun time." He crossed his arms. "So, you can get on the rapidash and we can have a few minutes of being really awkward and then a lot of time of being really fun, or we could stand here until the time you promised to give me runs out. Your choice."

"You have less patience than me. You're bluffing." She scoffed.

"Yeah, I've got less patience. Doesn't matter, because you're totally going to do it. You know you could never live with yourself if we just went home. You'd beat yourself up all night for being a coward. So, the mounting block is right here. Step on, swing up, I'll get on behind you, and we'll get going."

"Why now?"

"Because you've been ready for a few weeks now, and I wanted to do it forever ago, and Gary would have been a dick about it."

She glared at him for a minute, but gave a long sigh and climbed up the mounting block, swinging comfortably in the saddle. Dancer shifted underneath her, and she could immediately feel the difference. Aside from the fact that, even with him liking her, he was still far hotter than he had been as a ponyta, his back was broader and covered in hard muscle. Her nerves were already getting to her by the time Ash was in the saddle and gave her a pat on her helmet. His arms went around her waist to grab the saddled, and she had to quiet a complaint. She had seen movies where they did it, and it seemed like the logical thing for him to do. She didn't want him toppling off.

She squeezed Dancer's sides, and he strode off casually, heading towards the exit of the stables, and she took a few deep breaths to calm herself. She wished she was the one in the back, letting Ash control the reins, but she guessed that wasn't really the point. She also tried to push away the nerves that came from having Ash pressed up so tightly against her. She wasn't with Gary anymore, after all, so there was no reason to think that he would get mad for having too much contact with Ash. There was no reason to mind having so much contact with Ash in the slightest. It wasn't like she wasn't used to touching - she was ambushed with hugs every time she went home.

Ash's breath on her neck gave her a shiver, and she gave Dancer a squeeze to ease him into a trot, then a canter. A few moments later, she tossed caution to the wind, and squeezed him again, letting him pound his hooves hard across the hard dirt path. The world around her sped up, then blurred as she leaned forward, knotting her hands in Dancer's mane. His hooves tore up the land, making her heart slam against her ribs, bits of hair slapping against her wind stung face as they tore fre of her ponytail. Before she knew it, she was beaming, laughing, and enjoying the delighted laugh of Ash behind her.

* * *

_"That's what you're wearing?"_

_"Wha-well, excuse me, Ketchum. It's not like you're wearing a tux."_

_"No! I didn't mean that. I meant, well, girls usually dress for parties different. You know, with the tiny shirts and short skirts. That looks fine! You look great. I like that better than those other outfits."_

_"Shut up."_

_"I mean it! I get uncomfortable when girls are…you know."_

_"That's right. Girls freak you out. No need to worry, Ash. I don't like shirts, and I'm not really a sexy dresser. I've got a swimmer's body, anyway, broad shoulders and pretty muscle-y. Not exactly great looking in that stuff."_

_"I think you look nice. Ow!"_

_"Stop all the stupid compliments, you idiot. Next time I'm aiming lower."_

* * *

"Listen, Drew, you've got a lot going for you," Melody said, looking at her nails as she stood next to him. She spoke just loud enough to be heard over the blaring music, but quiet enough that her voice wasn't stressed. "You're good looking, the ladies love you, got some good grades and a decent reputation in the contest circuit. Word has it you've got quite a bit of money, too. Fashion, I believe. That's where you get those nice clothes. I'd imagine, with all that, you aren't easily bribed. That's why I'm trying to figure out what Misty could have possibly given you to get you to stand body guard at the door with an illegally released pokémon."

"Roselia needed some time out of her ball. I was happy to do it." He smirked at the girl. "I'm not exactly one for parties, Mel. I'm fine just standing here, enjoying the music, reading a good book on my phone if I get too bored. It's a nice night for me. Why don't you go enjoy the party? Because there's no way in hell I'm letting you in Misty's room."

Melody laughed and shook her head. "You are a selfish bastard, Drew. You're not doing this out of the goodness of your heart. You don't do anything out of the goodness in your heart."

"Double check your research, Mel. I volunteer at the children's hospital every Saturday."

"Yeah, volunteer work. Real selfless. It's not like you're a high school student who has a resume that could always be improved by some volunteering on the side." Melody rolled her eyes.

"Believe what you want. I don't just do it because it looks nice on my resume. I like to help if a cause is good enough. Being a bouncer isn't exactly charity, but I've got a friend in there who appreciates it, so I think it's time well spent. You're not getting in the room, I don't want in on any of your bets, I know there's no swimming pool on the roof, so get out of here. You've got better things to do and you're distracting me from my book."

Melody's eyes narrowed. "Friend. You said 'a friend', singular. Not friends. If I had to guess, you're referring to May, aren't you?"

"You hit the nail right on the head, Mel. You want a prize?"

"I always want a prize." She crossed her arms. "So, what is this? You like May. You're doing this for her. Do you think this is going to impress her or something? Because I've seen May, and I've got some research on her, and she's the queen of the goody-two-shoes brigade. I can't see her going for a jerk like you, especially with how you act towards her. Sure, some of the girls around here think it's charming, but this is just going to chase a girl like May off. You don't stand a chance, not even if you toss in some cute little favors. It won't make a difference, not in the long run."

"It's not about impressing her." Drew grinned. "Believe it or not, Melody, I'm not after anything. May asked, I agreed, simple as that. I do things when she doesn't ask, too, because that's what you do for a friend."

Melody snorted. "Yeah, because that's what you're after, friendship. Seriously, Drew, no need to be friendzoned. I know plenty of girls who would climb all over themselves to get to you."

"I know them too. You've got nothing to offer me."

"Then what the hell is this song and dance you have going?" Melody snapped, clenching her fists. "You clearly like her, don't have any problems admitting it. You know, I think several people have _noticed _that you've got a thing for her. They've probably told her. She probably knows you like her, and she's not doing anything. Don't you think that tells you something, Drew? Don't you think that means she isn't interested, ad this whole thing is pointless, and you should just fucking move out of the way and let me into the room?"

"She's not ready, and I've got time." Drew pulled his phone out from his pocket, opening a book on it. "Now, here's your final warning: Get away from me and the door for the rest of the night, or Roselia will escort you off the premises. He knows better than to harm anyone, so you don't have to worry about ay injuries, but it won't exactly be flattering to be carried out of the dorms by a pokémon. So, Melody, if you would please leave that would be lovely."

"Hey, Drew, I - oh, looks like you're busy." May stepped out of the room, smiling and breathless, and faded quickly as she saw Melody. She frowned. "You're not invited into the room, Melody. There's plenty of music out here, and there's food downstairs. We're already being nice, letting you in the building. Your stupid bet really hurt Misty."

"Oh, like I give a crap. It's a betting pool, it's not like I killed one of her sisters." She flipped May off. "It's your mewdamed fault I can't get in, so fuck you, May. See what happens next time you want to make some cash on camps, because there's no way I'm letting you into the next bet. None of any of the special offers I get either. I'm just trying to turn a buck. I'm not interfering, I'm not doing shit except trying to make some cash. You're the real assholes here. Really, you lot deserve each other. Enjoy your fucking party."

She stormed down the hall, leaving May stunned, her mouth slightly open. Drew smirked. "Cranky, isn't she?"

"I can't believe she was so rude, and acting like we did something wrong. After everything she did I…ugh. forget it. I didn't come out here to deal with her." She ran a hand through her hair, having left it down and curled it that morning. "I came out to see if you needed company. I mean, you can't really have fun if you're doing this. I mean, thanks for it, but if you wanted to do something else, I understand. I don't want to impose or waste your time or anything. I mean, you've got to have better stuff to do, and I just mean-"

"I got what you mean. You've said it about five times." He chuckled. "I don't care. I don't like parties, not this kind anyway. Pop music and people slamming up against each other. Never really been my thing. I'm a bigger fan of the dances the school has. Minimal dance music, nice refreshments, everybody's dressed up, and nearly everything's a slow dance. That's way more my speed."

"You like going to the dances then?"

"They're fun. Not the greatest time, but I like going to them. I'll go even if someone doesn't ask me." He flipped a page in his book. "What about you, May? I haven't seen you at too many of them, and I never see you with a date. I figured you'd like getting dressed up, what with your contests outfits. They can be a little over the top for an outfit you're planning on battling in."

"My outfits are fine for battling in! And I love dances! In fact, I keep trying to…" She stopped, blushing ad taking rapid, shallow breaths. "Oh, forget all of this! I just wanted to say thank you for doing this. We all really appreciate it. If yo want to come in or anything, you're welcome to, but try not to be such a party pooper."

She slammed the door behind her, and Drew grinned down at his book.

"Close, May. Real close."

* * *

_"This is insane! How'd you manage to get the music going through the whole building?"_

_"someone started spreading the word I was throwing a party, and everyone said they were coming. I didn't wanna try and keep everyone out and I didn't want them to ruin your party."_

_"Not _why. _I'm asking _how_!"_

_"May's little brother is like some tiny tech genius. He set it up. So, bunch of people partying in the hallways, and a private party for whoever you want in."_

_"There's only one problem, Ketchum."_

_"What? I thought…I'm sorry-"_

_"The music's not loud enough! I can still hear myself think! Turn it up!"_

* * *

Ash had never been thanked so…sweetly before. Well, maybe by an old lady or two. Mrs. Jennings had been pretty friendly when he had brought over his cookies, but that hadn't really been pleasant. That had mostly just been awkward. He hadn't really enjoyed those hugs. He bet he'd probably like if Misty hugged him. She just smiled at him warm and sweet and said, "That's more than enough." He couldn't believe that those words had him tingling, floating. He was going to go crazy if that's all it took to make him giddy. It was hard enough knowing how warm she was, how she felt in his arms when they rode. She even smelled good. Though, he supposed most girls smelled pretty good, so that wasn't too weird.

He had no idea what Dawn came to stand next to him, teasing him with, "You're bluuushing!" Honestly, he wasn't sure how close she had been when he was talking to Misty, if he had heard them. If she had, he wasn't sure how much. He wondered if she had seen anything, and shook that off. There hadn't been anything to see, after all.

Instead he scowled. "I am not."

She giggled and poked him in the ribs. He swatted her hand away, and absently wondered what she was supposed to be doing. She was a part of the clean up crew, after all, and they had more than enough people in the room as it was. Brock, Misty, and May all planned on cleaning Misty's room. He couldn't imagine they needed Dawn's help as well, but there she was, in a tank top and miniskirt and heels he couldn't even begin to imagine how she walked in, and was quite gleefully spending her time teasing him. "You are too. You're blushing! You have a crush on Misty, Mr. Nice Guy. Now I know why all this went on! Trying to impress your girlfriend, right?"

"Shut up! That's not it at all!" he shouted, face flaming red. He was far too loud, and he could already hear May and Brock giggling slightly as they picked up the last of the party litter from the floor. He didn't understand why girls had to be so mean about this stuff. He shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at the floor. "Can't a guy do something nice for a girl without it being some romantic gesture?"

"They can," Dawn said with a grin that was downright predatory. He knew it, he'd seen it all the time in the birds of prey on Oak's farm. He'd seen it in the meowths, too, that look of satisfaction they got right before they dove in with beak or teeth or claw and snapped some tiny meal in half. It made him want to run, honestly, but the whole thing made him want to run. He had set up the party, and he had enjoyed it, so he forced himself to stay routed to the spot so he could do the right thing and help clean. Still, Dawn was relentless, "You know, unless they blush because that girl thanked them."

He glared at her, still furious, still wishing that Dawn was aggressive enough and tough enough that she could handle a punch to her shoulder like the girls he grew up with. At least May Oak had never teased him about girl, even if she spent half her life chasing after him. He actually debated it for a moment, thinking that Dawn could probably handle a punch to her shoulder and knowing it was almost guaranteed to make her stop, when Pikachu nipped his ear to remind him to mind his manners. He knew better to hit someone who couldn't take it.

Ash took a deep, calm breath. "I don't like her, so shut up about it already."

She looked at him for a moment, then shrugged and strode off. "I'm going to tell Brock."

"Mewdammit, Dawn, would you-" he snapped, trying to grab her arm.

She danced out of his grasp. "Bro-ock!" she sang, racing over to grab the older boy. Giggling, she pulled his head down to whisper in his ear, purposefully glancing over at the fuming Ash as she told him her latest gossip.

"You know, you shouldn't bet on people's love lives, no matter how big the betting pool is." Brock pulled away, shaking his head at Dawn with a chuckle. He grinned at Ash far more kindly then Dawn had, his voice much friendlier as he teased, "That explains the party. Want her off the rebound quick, huh?"

Ash hardly noticed Brock's friendly tone as he stomped his foot and crossed his arms like a child. "No! Ugh! That's not it at all! Dawn's a liar, okay? A complete liar! I wasn't blushing, it's not true and you're all jerks!"

"They're making fun of you again, Ash?" Misty asked. She'd gone out to get the vacuum from the front desk of the dorm, and was swinging the cord casually in her hand. Ash was glad that Misty had been normal tonight at least, aside from being especially nice to him, she had still worn her normal girl. T-shirt and jean shorts, no more skin than normal, not more sexy than normal, just the same old Misty, who he had thankfully not even seen dance thanks to the huge crowd of people who had swarmed her all night. She smiled at the group. "Come on, leave him alone. Even I'm laying off him tonight."

Brock smirked. "I think he'd rather you lay on him."

Ash's ears were firmly red by this point as he glared at Brock, snapping, "No!" Then, noticing Misty raising a curious eyebrow at him, he muttered, "I have to go to the bathroom" and stormed passed her, ignoring Brock's apologies and leaving Misty sighing and a little bit sadder, still swinging the vacuum cord.

"You guys are so mean to him. You know he can't take teasing about that kind of stuff." She bent down to plug the vacuum in, frowning as she turned it on the it made a quiet roar of terrible suction. "Especially when he's been so great to me tonight. Not a lot of guys would do this for a friend, you know."

Dawn giggled again. "A boyfriend would."

She frowned. "Oh, don't tell me we're back on that crap again."

"Well, why shouldn't we be? Right, May?" Dawn asked, rolling her eyes over to the brunette. May put her hands up and shook her head, refusing to say anything, and Dawn pouted. "She won't say it, but she thinks so too. You and Ash would be absolutely adorable together. Just think of it, romantically travelling across the world, carrying little babies in those tacky backpacks. You guys could pull it off. You'd have cute little redhead babies. Imagine that, Misty, cute little redhead babies with Ash's adorable features."

"His mom's a brunette. I doubt he's got the gene for red hair." Misty rolled the vacuum across the floor, May and Brock lifting the bed for her to better clean under it.

"Aha!" she cried triumphantly, rushing over. "So you've thought about what your babies would look like!"

"No, I'm a redhead. I've been told every since I was a little kid how I'd have adorable redheaded babies, and I take pride in explaining to people that, unless I marry another redhead or the child of a redhead, it's extremely unlikely I'm going to get one. It's the curse of having this gorgeous hair." She flipped her ponytail with a smirk. "Either way, I just got out of a relationship, Dawn, or did you forget why we were having this party in the first place? I don't think it's a good idea for me to just leap into another, don't you think? They have a word for that."

"It's a phrase, actually. On the rebound," Brock butted in. "Also, doesn't make girls as desperate as you'd think. Never worked for me, at least."

"I'm going to let that one go without making a joke." Misty chuckled. "So, Dawn, how about you head back to your room for the night and stop teasing me and especially stop teasing Ash. If I hear you going after him, I swear I'll break your nose for it. He's been a good friend to me, and you shouldn't make fun of him for that." Her good humor vanished and she glared at the girl. "Especially considering I'm already kind of pissed you're actually in the betting pool. Did you really think that was okay, betting on who I'd end up with? And jumping in the pool _now_?"

Dawn stiffened. "I was in before you broke up with Gary."

"You were in when I came back from break and knew I was having trouble. It wasn't right, and you're kind of lucky I even let you in the room tonight." She turned off the vacuum and turned to Dawn. "Listen, I'm going to try my best not to hold it against you. I get why you thought it was fun, but what you did…seriously, Dawn. I'm not okay with it. I'm pretty shocked that you did it, and I've barely got the self control to keep myself from hitting you. So, how about you don't fuck with the guy who's been helping me through what you've been betting on?"

"This should have been private," Dawn said quietly, folding her arms. "You didn't have to say it in front of them."

"Yeah, well, my love life is supposed to be private too. Obviously, you're not that big of a fan of privacy." Misty turned the vacuum on again, letting Dawn stride out the door. She didn't meet May or Brock's eyes. "Was that too mean? I mean, I like her but…fuck. She's in the betting pool with Melody. I expect it from people I don't know, and I expect it from Melody because the girl genuinely has no boundaries, but I thought Dawn and I were kind of friends. Not super close, but…she should know better, shouldn't she?"

"She made a mistake," May murmured. "Maybe you were a little mean but…stick with what you said. Put it behind us. I think she knows what she did was wrong now."

Misty bit her lip. "Did you know, May?"

"She talked about the bets, but she didn't say she was in on it. I suspected that, maybe…but hoped that she didn't. I never asked, and that was my mistake."

"Then just forget it. It was a mistake. I want to put everything about this behind me. Clean up the party and move on." She rubbed the back of her neck. "Really, I'm done with this."

"Sounds like it's for the best. And, if it helps, I promise to lay off Ash for a bit too. I think he's got his own stuff to deal with." Brock squeezed her shoulder. "You know, he might need someone to talk to."

She shrugged. "Maybe. But if he doesn't know I'm here for him by now, I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

* * *

_"Ash, really…I can't thank you enough. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."_

_"Nah, it's no big deal. I only had the idea. It's everyone else who made it happen."_

_"Not just the party, you idiot. You called me to make sure I was okay, you called me at one in the morning, you wouldn't let me mope even thought I really wanted to. You took me riding. I don't think I ever would have thought to do that if it wasn't for you. You've been a really great friend. You were there, you've been there every time I needed you, and that's what matters. Thank you."_

_"It's…oh, come on. It's no big deal. Besides, if I was really good I would have warned you earlier, or been smarter about it and just…stopped it or-"_

_"You were there."_

_"Yeah, but that's it. I was just…there."_

_"And that's more than enough."_

* * *

Also, as many of you may know, this fanfiction is the last thing I'm doing in Pokemon, unless inspiration really hits. I'm not too involved in the fandom anymore, so if anyone has recommendations to well-written Pokemon fics - by well written, I expect basic grammar and characters that act in-character - I would absolutely love to get them. I don't have it in me to go through the slushpile of "new" anymore.

And if any of you have any fandom recommendations that are fun to write in, let me know. I'm trying to figure out what to do, aside from my own works.


	21. Winning and Losing

In this chapter, the Doctor comes in and completely changes the genre. Harry Potter comes in too, but he isn't nearly so influential on the work.

* * *

Misty rolled her eyes as Ash cheered, practically bouncing. "It's the first round of competition today! And I'm in it! A real competition with tough rivals and prizes and lots of fun! Finally! No more of this boring school crap. How are you guys not excited?" He stuck his tongue out at Misty. "Aside from you. You don't get excited about anything."

"We're all excited, just not as much as you." May giggled. "I haven't seen anyone this excited since, well, since I walked through the freshman hall this morning."

"Well, he's basically a freshman when it comes to the competition. It's his first. Who wouldn't be excited?" She slammed her locker shut. "Not that you should get excited about tough rivals, Ketchum. You battle Master Lance all the time. It's not like the students around here are better than him."

"Yeah, but I can't beat Master Lance. Sometimes I come close, but his pokémon are way too strong. It's not fair. I have a chance with this, though. I've done some other competitions, but they were way too easy. You've got to be a good battler to get into this school. This'll actually be a challenge. And one I can win." He smirked. "So, try not to cry when I win, Misty. It'll make it a lot less fun."

"Why would I cry when you get through the first round?" she taunted back. "I promise to wipe up your tears when I take the finals, though."

They made faces at each other, prompting May to giggle, and making her full out laugh with, "Yeah, Mist, you'll be fine as long as no one has a grass or electric type, especially with that gyarados of yours!"

"Hey, type trumping isn't the only way to win, you know."

"Oh, I _know_."

"What's _that _supposed to mean?"

Melody snapped a picture of them two of them, their faces inches from each other, both smiling. "You two are so close when you flirt. The betting pool is going crazy, and these pictures are going to make it grow like crazy. Especially since a lot of people want a second chance, now that a bunch of them have been knocked out by the whole Gary thing. Everyone's changing the dates even earlier. Ooh! You're blushing! That's perfect!" And she quickly snapped another picture on her digital camera.

"Melody, get out of here!" Misty growled, grabbing at the camera.

"Ah, young love between two ruffians. So beautiful. So aggressive." She dashed off, camera safely stowed in her bag, before either of the pair could grab it away.

Ash crossed his arms, still red. "I don't like her."

"I've taught you well." She patted his shoulder. "Really, though, I get that you're excited, but calm down a little. You don't want that excitement turning to nerves and messing up your first match. It's against Koga's kid, and he's no walk in the park. Poison type gym leader who's been trained his entire life to specialize in the type. You're not allowed any kind of healing item - standard competition rules - so you're going to have to be really careful with that. His arbok is especially nasty, really quick and can get your pokémon poisoned without either you or your pokémon noticing."

He laughed. "Listen, Misty, I know that you're my teacher and everything, but I don't need your advice on this. I'm good at this. Just sit in the stands and enjoy the show."

"Well, aren't you cocky."

"You know it." He winked, and was gone down the hall, hurrying to the locker room behind the arena.

May tugged her elbow, laughing. "Oh, stop making that face. You know he doesn't need your advice on everything. You can't be his teacher all the time. Let's just do what he says. If he wins, we'll be happy for him. If you loses, try not to be mean and say any kind of 'I told you so'. You know how good Jarren is."

Misty sighed, letting herself be guided down the hall. The stadium was already filling up, so they rushed to get some decent seats, which wasn't too hard. The stadium was pure dirt, so most places had a pretty good view. Nothing to get in the way from the audience's view but other students. She wasn't a fan of the dirt arena, because it typically meant there wouldn't be any water types, and there was a big chance that at least one of the pokémon would know dig and spend half the battle underground. Fine for the trainers, who could feel the rumble of earth and hear the claws, but terrible for viewing.

"Koga's going to spend half the battle underground with his stupid ass arbok," she grumbled as the stadium finished filling. "This is gonna suck ass."

"It's gonna be great, stop being such a downer," May snapped.

Melody leaned forward, between May and Dawn, "So, neither of you currently have bets. Pretty disappointed at you drawing out, Dawn. But, I think that this battle is pretty big, you know, for the pool. Would either of you be interested in taking a few pictures for me?"

"How much?" Dawn asked, making Misty clench her fists and May draw back slightly.

"What are you doing?" she gasped.

"Making some cash." Dawn shrugged, tucking the twenty from Melody in her pocket, who beamed and handed over the camera. Dawn immediately stood up, camera in hand, and threw it as hard as she could so it crashed on the floor below, making several people in the front row squeak and draw back, and one shout a few insults up Dawn's way. Dawn handed back the twenty.

Melody's lips pursed. "You're paying for that."

"Of course. Sorry about that mistake. Send the bill to my dad," Dawn said calmly. "Now, shut up. The battle's about to start."

Misty's vision was too blurry to see Ash and Koga actually take the stage.

After wiping her eyes, she got ready to watch the battle. But she didn't watch it, not really. With most battles, she could give a blow by blow. She could analyze who won and who lost and think of better strategies than the ones used. Within the first few minutes, she completely forgot Koga was there. Instead she watched Ash, armed with a pikachu, sweep Koga's team. She watched the little mouse dash around Arbok and zap it to death. She saw Pikachu one-hit Ariados and match her trainer's smirk. And, finally, she watched Pikachu destroy a nidoking with normal type moves, and return to his trainer's shoulder with only a light sheen of sweat.

And one eye, always, always paid attention to Ash. She couldn't breathe, staring at him. She'd she him laugh and study and yell and play laser tag, and it had all paled in comparison. She almost wondered if he was human, as he was so flushed with excitement, so vibrant, so alive he almost seemed to glow. It felt like the Viridian Forest had come to life and strode into their midst, powerful and mysterious and terrifying. And she knew she wasn't the only one, because the stands had gone dead silent, minutes passing before only the lightest of murmurs began.

"Mew," May whispered. "He just faced Koga's kid…and he obliterated him."

Misty swallowed. "That was incredible."

Melody leaned forward, sighing then smiling. "It's a shame she broke my camera. Completely red, in a cold sweat, quick breathing. Really, it's a classic primal attraction right there. Impressed with his hunting skills, broad shoulders and all that good stuff. We'll have you two doing a mating dance in no time."

Dawn tapped the girl's shoulder. "Mel, you know you're a freak, don't you?"

* * *

He'd seen her face in the crowd, and there was no denying the thrill that had gone through him. She was impressed. She was clearly impressed, and it made him happier than he cared to admit. She was impressed by him, she knew he was good at something. He couldn't even place why he was so thrilled about it - it wasn't that big of a deal if Misty had thought he was good at battle. He didn't need her approval. He was in line to be Master of Kanto. Everyone knew he was incredible. It shouldn't have mattered if Misty was wowed by him as everyone else was.

But it did.

Melody walked with him to his table. "You're madly in love with Misty."

"No, I'm not." He glared. "Go away. I don't think we could make it any clearer than none of us want to hang out with you.

"Oh, come on. Tell the truth. I'm getting a little sick with running this pool, you know, so much drama. Just want it to calm down." She peered at him over her glasses. "I'm guessing you're scared of rejection, like most guys around here. You don't need to worry. Misty likes you back. I was sitting behind her during that battle. Plenty of people find battling hot, and Misty is clearly one of them. The girl was turned on like nobody's business. Really, it was almost disgusting. You ought to just confess to one another and move onto the fun parts."

"Shut up," Ash hissed, blushing. "None of that's true."

"Oh, please." Melody waved her hand casually. "By this point in her crush, she'll get jealous of you. With someone like Misty, I wouldn't be surprised if she completely freaks out."

"She would _not_ freak."

"Why don't we give it a shot?" Melody said casually. Ash glared suspiciously, and the girl waved happily, calling across the crowded cafeteria, "Hey, Misty! Over here!"

She glared at them, about to sit down with May and Dawn, clenching the soda can she'd just bought tight in her hand. "What _now_, Melody?"

"Just curious. Let me show you something."

She spun back to Ash and, grabbing his shirt, caught the boy unaware and slammed her lips onto his. Ash recoiled immediately, shoving Melody off him hard enough to knock her to the floor, stumbling backwards as he did so. He heard Misty's voice screaming, "Get the hell off of him!" shockingly loud. A glance over saw her soda spilled across the table, her face absolutely furious. She stormed across the cafeteria, shoving Melody against the wall as the girl stood up. Melody's eyes were wide.

"If you were a guy what you just did would have gotten you expelled," Misty snarled. Melody tried to swerve away, and Misty's hand gripped her arm tight. "What you did was wrong, and I know that you'll get away with it with minor punishment from the school, and you _will _get as much punishment from the school as they're willing to dole out. Your bets, fine. It's not exactly right, but it's not something I'm going to do anything about. You dare touch him again when he doesn't want it, I don't care what the school does to me. I will take you out back and snap the wrist of the hand you touched him with."

"Jealous, huh, Misty?" Melody attempted, voice shaking.

"Maybe. I don't give a shit. It's called sexual harassment. You forced yourself on another human being. Do it again, to anyone, and I swear to Moltres I'll make your life hell." She let her go.

There was an awkward silence in the cafeteria. Misty spun, storming out of the hall, and Ash raced after her, waiting until they had gotten around the corner and away from anyone watching to hug her tight, whispering, "Thank you" against her neck. She stiffened for a moment, then hugged him back, waiting until he let go to release him as well. Then they went their separate ways, nothing else said. In the cafeteria, lunch continued at it normally did, and Melody took any and all bets that changed.

She decided not to touch anyone else until she found herself a date of her own.

* * *

His room was so unbelievably, unbearably hot. It was weird enough that his room was actually hot for once, considering his room was usually iceberg cold, and she was often on the brink of needing a sweater when she was there. With him being on the ground floor, and the single rooms being at the whim of whatever the campus decided to set the heat at, it wasn't surprising when it was cold. Warm was weird. Hot was bizarre. Being so hot that she could hardly stand having her shirt on was insane.

Her red suspenders had already slipped off her shoulders, pooling on Ash's bed. That wasn't weird either, for some reason, being on his bed and being so hot she was fidgeting with the hem of her shirt. His desk wasn't there though, nor were his books or anything else the room was usually filled with. Even Pikachu was missing. She noticed all of it, and it wasn't weird. It seemed perfectly, one hundred percent normal. She gave no thought as to why she was there, as it obviously wasn't studying, and instead focused on the boy in front of her.

Because Ash wasn't wearing a shirt, and that was something else that seemed perfectly normal. Well, maybe not normal, but she wasn't too focused on the weirdness of it. She had seen him once or twice, when he raised his arms and his shirt slid up just slightly so she could see his stomach, flat with just the slightest hint of definition. She had glanced, sure, but she hadn't stared or anything. It wasn't like Ash was some kind of ripped Adonis. And of course she wasn't staring now, wasn't trailing her eyes over lean arms and chest, because that would be absolutely ridiculous. Because she wasn't attracted to Ash, not in the slightest.

Nope, she certainly didn't shiver when he smirked and said, "So, I heard you thought I was hot when I battled."

She laughed awkwardly, scooting back just slightly. "No! You're just a really great battler, Ash. _Anyone _would stare." She swallowed, her throat suddenly tight. "The whole stadium went quiet when you won. You destroyed the competition without breaking a sweat. It was insane."

He shuffled closer, keeping the distance consistent. "Oh, come on, Misty. We're alone. No one ever has to know. You can just tell me how hot you think I am." His smirk grew. "You think I haven't noticed you looking at me when we're all alone in my room? You thought you kept it hidden so well, didn't you?"

She shrugged, the blush riding up her cheeks as she searched for an excuse. "Human nature, Ketchum, being curious."

"Curious?" He laughed, crawling a little closer. She scooted back further, bumping against the wall. Normally, she would have realized she was hardly trapped. She was strong enough to knock Ash out of the way, with his unsteady position, and even if she didn't want to hit him, she could easily get off the bed and be out the door before he even know what happened. Instead, she was frozen, her mind blank and focused on the half-naked body of the boy in front of her. "What are you curious about, Mist?"

"You're different," she said. She swallowed as the distance between them turned to centimeters. She could feel the heat off his body, and she was more desperate to take off her shirt than ever before. She didn't know how she was going to take the heat. It was going to kill her. It had already scrambled her brain as she struggled to think of some kind of witty line. "You're really interesting. There's no one quite like you around here."

"You think I'd kiss interesting, too, right?" he said, his voice low and rough and making her toes curl. "I'd be different from Gary, right? You like his kisses enough, but they weren't like what I would kiss like. They'd be just like now, so incredibly, unbearably hot you couldn't keep your clothes on. So hot it'd fry your brain."

"Shut up!" Her fists clenched against the sheets as she shook her head. "That's not it! That's not it at all! There's no way I would ever want to kiss you, not in a million years! You're an idiot! The only reason I even feel the slightest bit of…of liking for you is because I'm on the rebound and you were nice to me. I'm clingy, that's all. Just clingy."

He chuckled. "I thought you were a _good _actress."

His kissed her then, taking her chin and tilting it up and making her muscles feel weak. And yet, the strangeness continued, as she wasn't nervous about it, or awkward. All she could do was cling to him, forcing his body roughly into hers. He was horribly hot, and she couldn't care less anymore. All the mattered was getting more from him. More of his mouth that was hard against hers, more of his hands that were the perfect mix of rough and smooth as it slid under her shirt, sending fire along her waist. Thank Mew he was shirtless, so she could skip that and start fumbling at his pants-

She burst awake with a gasp, her hand tangled in her hair. She buried her face in her pillow for a moment, then moaned. "Oh, no. No, no, no. This can't be happening. I can't. I just…fuck, it can't. I can't, I can't, I can't." She curled up, clutching the pillow tight to her. She tried to convince herself that her heart wasn't pounding, that her breaths weren't quick, that she didn't want to go back into the dream and let it finish. She did that for a while, the time clicking by on the clock on the wall, until she realized that even she couldn't talk herself out of it.

"I'm on the rebound. He's cute. He's nice. Dreams happen, Misty," she told herself, running a hand through her hair. "All you have to do is make sure that it doesn't happen in real life. Keep it all to yourself and nothing has to change. No one has to know. Just enjoy your dream."

So she did. And then she went to sleep.

* * *

Misty was shockingly grumpy on the day of May's competition with Drew. She did her best to remain cheerful despite her friend's unpleasant mood, focusing mainly on the tactics she planned to use. She had always been one for the elegant style, but Drew was too, which would make the contest easy to judge. There also wouldn't be much she could do to console herself if she lost, as judges preferring one style of coordinating over another was a popular excuse among the losers during the competition. Going against someone who practiced the same style, minor differences aside, was harder to excuse. She pushed the thoughts away and tried to focus on victory.

"I am going to beat Drew's stupid, perfect face today. I am," she said fiercely.

"How can you be, like, _so_ excited about this but will, like, _to_tally die if you try to ask him to the totally awesome dance?" Misty asked, her voice high and hazy as she turned irritably through a thick, stapled, paper packet. She was laying down on a bench, head dangling over the edge as she read.

"Okay, what's up with you? Pardon my language, but you're being really bitchy today."

Misty lowered her script and arched an eyebrow. "Swearing?"

"I'm stressed, and you're being mean and Valley Girling me when I have done anything stupid."

She sighed, rubbing her forward. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry. It's just that my sisters finally finished up the script for the new play, and they've making me be the lead. It's a romance and everything. I've been trying to think of a way out of it all day, and I can't think of anything. So now I'm stuck memorizing it."

"Oh no. A star-ring role. How-ev-verwill you sur-vive?" May said sarcastically, making each syllable short and choppy.

Misty put her script down, sitting up. "Gees, You _are _nervous. I'm sorry for complaining it's just, I hate these stupid shows. It's not fun for me to have to always be on stage, always acting, perpetually wishing I could be eating a bowl of ice cream and watching sappy movie on the couch. The only reason they pick me is because they know it'll annoy me. It's not like I'm as hot as they are, and Violet's way better at acting. She writes the stuff anyway. At least they aren't making me sing this time around."

May sighed dreamily. "Mmm, ice cream and a movie. That's the sign of a good night."

"Right, but instead I-"

May grabbed the script, flipping through it. "Violet writes these. She's not going to make someone who sucks at acting do this. You're good at it, and they do it because they want it done right. They make money off this, you know that. I know I got free admission, but I bet they only do that for friends. They weird part it that they want you to do a romance. You've been in one relationship, and it's not like you've experienced anything they're going on about in here. They usually give you something kind of close to your personality. Weird."

"At least no one has to see it."

"You just totally jinxed yourself." May laughed and handed the script back. "Anyway, put your script away and go get into the stands and enjoy my absolutely awesome performance where I beat Drew."

* * *

May did not beat Drew. May lost, not exactly spectacularly. Well, Misty imagined it wasn't. She didn't know much about contests so she had to go off the score and the time. It took a lot longer than most other ones she had seen, and the numbers were very close. The judges seemed to discuss it for awhile. It had looked pretty. But, in the end, May had lost, so Misty went back to the locker room and sit next to May and try to comfort her, arms around the sad faced girl's shoulders. She wasn't crying, which seemed like a good sign.

"I lost," she said sadly. "I fail at life."

"May, you won the whole competition last year and you made it to the semifinals this year while using a pokémon you recently caught," Misty said, squeezing her. "That's pretty amazing. You lost early this year, but that's because you went up against Drew. He's a favorite to win the whole competition this year. Anyone watching out there probably has an eye on you. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a few letters this year."

The brunette groaned. "I fail at everything I do."

"Dammit, May, don't be emo."

"I'm so worthless. I should just die."

Misty looked at the ceiling and counted to ten, because that was supposed to be effective at managing people's tempers. It worked enough that she was able to talk calmly without swearing. "Alright, May, then let's have a talk about this. See, you can't win every year. You made it very far, and you lost very honorably. Well, you lost honorably in public. Back here, you're embarrassing, and underestimating yourself. I mean, you won last year. And this year you lost to one awesome dude. Anyway, you had a good brave face in front of the crowd. You had a great match against Drew. It went down to the wire. It was great, May."

"He's going to think I'm an idiot who has no idea how to coordinate. It's bad enough that I had to lose, but I had to lose to him." Her eyes narrowed. "Meanwhile, Dawn's climbing through the roster like a stripper on a pole. I bet she's had practice." She paused and sighed guiltily. "That was wrong. Sorry, but her pokémon are so much better than mine. Of course the judges like her best."

Misty shrugged. "To be fair, she also spent the bulk of the year training with Ash and Drew, so-"

"And me! Strategy thief!" she clenched her fists.

"Alrighty, let's hate Melody instead of our friends." She rubbed her shoulder. "It's only anger hate, so it doesn't really make a difference who you aim it at."

She sniffed. "Just imagine what it's be like to lose to Ash."

"First of all, I'm not going to lose to Ash, so your point is completely ridiculous. Second, I'd try harder to beat him next year if I did lose, which I won't. Third, I wouldn't feel that bad because he's, like, some weird god of pokémon descended on the world to save our souls or something. And fourth, I'd find something I know I can beat him at or just call him an idiot a little bit more to feel better."

"But don't you want to impress him so he'll like you?"

"Oh, May, don't make this about a boy. Winning or losing, it isn't about impressing Drew. It's about doing the best you can, and doing it for yourself. If Drew was any kind of nice guy he'd like you for the great person you are, not because you won a match."

"Contest."

Misty grit her teeth. "Right. The point is, if Drew doesn't like you because you can't beat him in a contest, he's not a good guy. He's not the kind of guy you want to date. He doesn't deserve you if he thinks that the only thing worthwhile about you is being good at contests. You're smart, and you're incredibly kind. You're a great person, and none of that changes if you lose a contest."

"I really like him, Misty," she said quietly. Misty did her very best not to stiffen when May grabbed her tight, burying her head in the redhead's chest. "I like him so, so much, and all I want is for him to like me back. But I keep messing it up! I don't know what I'm supposed to do! He's smarter than me, and funnier, and people like him more, and I can't even ask him out to a stupid dance. It's not like he's ever going to ask me. If I ever wanted to stand a chance of being with him I'd have to ask and I can't because I'm just a stupid coward!"

"Oh, May, no," Misty murmured, hugging her close. "You're not. Just…some people aren't good at romance. People like you and me, we're not like Dawn. We're not good at finding other people, and we don't know what to do when we finally do find them. That doesn't mean you're wrong or useless or anything like that. It doesn't mean you're stupid. And maybe you are a little bit nervous to ask Drew out. It's okay! But if you're really that worried about it, just face your fear. Go up to him and tell him you want to go to the dance with him. The worst he could do is say no."

"That's not true."

"Well, yeah, I mean the worst thing he could do would be take you to the dance, drug you, rape you, and bury you alive, but we're focusing on things likely to happen."

May gave a slight giggle, pushing away. "Stop it. You know what I mean. Drew's not exactly…he can be mean sometimes. A lot like you. I could ask him and he could make fun of me for it. He could tell everyone in the whole school that stupid May asked him to go to the dance and he said no and she ran away crying like a stupid little kid."

"And if he did any of that, he's an asshole." Misty grabbed her hands and squeezed them firmly. "If he says no, then he doesn't like you. You cry for a while, you feel bad, and then you realize that some people just won't be ttracted to you, and that's not something wrong with you, and that's not something wrong with them. If some guy makes fun of you for having the courage to ask, then fuck him. He's an ass and he doesn't deserve you. He's the kind of guy you don't want to say yes, because it you did he'll spend all of his time making horribly passive aggressive comments until you need years of therapy."

"It doesn't matter how many times you say it. I know it's true, but it'll still hurt a lot."

Misty smiled. "I know. But, if my opinion counts for anything, I really don't think he's going to say no. I think he likes you as much as you like him. You have to have noticed the way he looks at you, how he always goes out of his way to talk to you. Really, May, you've got to know he treats you differently."

"I guess." May nibbled her lip. "I mean, he kissed me once."

She stiffened, her grip tightening uncomfortably on May's hands. "I…I'm sorry. I could not have heard you right. Are you telling me, with a straight face, no joking, that the boy you have a crushed on kissed you?"

"Mmmhmm, while I was sick. I think that means-"

"Mew _damn _it, May," Misty gasped. "What does the boy have to do? Give you a handwritten invitation? I'm pretty sure a kiss is a universal sign of attraction."

"Yeah, but maybe he kissed me and-"

"No. Nope. We're not doing this."

Misty began to drag May out of the room, despite the girl's quiet protests. They were lucky enough to catch Drew on his way out of the locker room, and Misty grabbed him as well. He took it rather well, letting himself be dragged down the halls without protest, until Misty deposited them in an empty hallway far out of earshot of anyone in the competition. Even the roaring of the crowds during an especially popular appeal was barely audible to the three of them. Misty glared firmly at May, crossing her arms.

"You do it, Maple. You do it, or I swear to everything good in the world I'll do it myself."

And, with that, she was gone as well, leaving May and Drew alone in the hallway. He had a single, curious eyebrow raised at her, and she was doing her best to look absolutely anywhere but his face. She doubted there was any way of getting out of it now. She didn't think Misty would go through on her threat, telling Drew she had a crush on him if she didn't ask him to the dance, but she wasn't positive, and she figured that was probably how Misty got her to do most things - making sure she hd that slight bit of uncertainty. Still, it was awkward enough being in her contest dress. She told herself she was hot and that was why sweat was dripping down her neck.

"May?"

She took a deep breath and blurted, "The dance is coming up. Are you going with anyone?"

He was grinning. Kyogre, why was he grinning? "No."

"Me either. You want-" He voice cracked and she groaned, spinning around and pacing awkwardly up and down the hallway.

Drew was tracking her with his eyes, still casually leaning against the wall. "Why are we here, May?"

"Do you even want to go?" she asked hotly, facing him with her arms crossed. "I never see you with any girl when you're there. You say you like dances, but I don't think you do. I think you just go because you…because you just want to be the center of attention. You want all the girls to pay attention to you so you go to the dance alone every year."

He shrugged. "Not _all _of them."

"Well, they all like you, so it doesn't even matter if you don't want all of them." She was angry now, jealous and upset with herself, and her fists were clenched at her sides.

"I haven't really noticed." He smirked at he. "Good contest, by the way."

"You're such a jerk!" she shrieked, stomping her foot. She stormed up to him, shoving her index finger a centimeter away from his noise, and her anger only grew when she saw that he was smiling at her still. "Ugh! I've been trying to ask you all year to go to the dance but you're making it impossible! You always know exactly what to say to get me all nervous and freak out and I can't ask you!"

He laughed, doubling over. "Groudon, May, you're amazing."

She blinked. "I…what? What are you-?"

"Really. It took you forever." He closed the distance between her and kissed her once, sweetly on the lips. "I've been waiting for you, idiot. I'll pick you up at six."

She gawked at him as she walked away, one hand pressed softly her lips. Then, once she was completely alone in the hallway, she laughed and slumped to the floor, hand over her pounding heart. Her other hand pumped in the air once and she declared, "Victory!" before hysterical giggles overtook her and she lay on the cold tile, enjoying her mirth.

* * *

Why high school? Why did I do this? I hate high school. I hate high school fics. WHY DID I DO THIS TO MYSELF?

loljk i did it for teh hits!11! reed and fave. if i dunt get 100 revews i wont update. i need the atenshun.


	22. Battle

I slipped in a overt sexual reference in both this chapter and the previous one. If you find one, I'll give you a hug. If you find both...imaginary internet points I suppose. You don't get money or anything. Come on.

* * *

Misty's first couple of matches went well. Not stunningly well. She had never made a stadium fall silent, but she still breezed through the competition. Despite being in the school for years, most students still relied on type trumping more than they should, and made the mistake of walking into the arena with three electric types or a few grass types on hand. Misty, however, was a single type trainer. She was always granted a water type arena, and always would be. Just like the grass type trainers were sure to have a forest terrain and flying trainers fought outside. There was nothing more satisfying then wiping the smirk off a competitors' face when her gyarados withstood the Thunderbolt and toppled the electric type from the stand into the water.

One of her matches had been challenging, which was nice. A multi-type user who had made sure all their pokémon had some competence in the water, so their battle wasn't instantly lost if they were knocked in. That one had been a bit harder to win, but it hadn't exactly been her roughest battle. She knew the semi-finals was where it got tough, and was fully prepared for her last easy match as she strode up to the new match up board. She was surprised to find several students cleared out of her way as she walked up.

"Come on, Cindy. Do I have the plague or some…"

Her words trailed off, and her mouth was terribly dry as she stared up the match ups. Though coordinators were far more superstitious, trainers had their own superstitions, and Misty's match up couldn't have been any worse luck. Just like people had avoided Dominic and Terra, she would be gettign a wide berth this weekend. After all, this year, being matched up against Ash was a death sentence. They might as well have put a strike through her name as far as the group was concerned. She had already lost. She was up against the golden boy.

"Oh, damn," she muttered quietly, staring at the side by side profiles. "Why in the semis? Couldn't it have waited one more round? Just one?"

"So, this'll be your first year you're not in the semifinals, right? Sucks to be you." Ash strode up behind her, putting his arm on her shoulder and leaning on her awkwardly.

She rolled her eyes. "You have to be taller than me for that to work, dumbass. Do you have any idea how retarded you look right now?"

"Not as retarded as you're going to look when I one hit KO every member of your team."

"Oh, is that so?" She turned to him, poking him in the forehead. "Well, Ketchum, you may be a child prodigy, but it's time to grow up and join the big time. See, around here, there are a few trainers who are actually at your skill level, and better. You're not playing with some country boy with his fresh caught weedle in Pallet Town Middle School's latest competition. You're up against career trainers, judges, gym leaders, and potential elites. It won't be nearly so easy this time."

"Go ahead, brag now. It'll only make it funnier when I win."

He stuck his tongue out at her and she teasingly punched him in the shoulder, and the two quickly forgot the students who had been glancing at Misty like she'd been given the death sentence and the professionals who had been keeping on eye on the students. Had they been paying attention and noticed their mentors in the corner, Ash might have refrained from lifting Misty off her feet and spinning her around, and Misty might have actually used a decent amount of force in her kicks and demands to be let go.

"I'm glad your student isn't terrifying mine," Lorelei said, grinning at Lance.

"I'm glad your student isn't causing so much trouble around here anymore." He chuckled, shaking his head. "I told the council how many times? You have an elite wandering around the campus. She's going to be bored. She's going to be unbearable. She needs some competition to knock her down a peg. Same thing with Ash. if I hadn't made sure to set him up against older and stronger opponents the boy would be intolerable now. Maybe next time they won't be so cheap and give me the scholarship earlier."

"She was never unbearable. She needed competition, though. Unlike you, I'm not allowed to battle whoever I please. My student has to have a diploma before I can start training them properly." She bumped him. "Lucky bastard."

"I was worried he'd be lonely, you know. Thank you for ensuring they worked together." Lance smiled at her. "I admit, I wasn't pleased when this all started. I thought putting Ash under his first real competition would backfire, but you were right. He took it more maturely than I ever imagined, and your student was not as…unpleasant as I thought she would be. You can't blame me, though. The stories you've told me made her seem horrible, you know that."

"Oh, yes. You made your opinion of Misty quite clear from the beginning." She glanced down at her tablet, sorting through the complex schedule. "I wish this match was delayed, though. The students would be furious if I interfered. Of course, there would also be the matter of me cheating. But it would e great to keep the two of them focused on the competition awhile longer."

Lance laughed. "Well, I can't say I mind having it early. I'd like to see the match between the two of them. Seems interesting enough to bet on."

Melody slid up next to him, grinning, "I haven't been taking bets on who's winning the competition, as that is in the school's handbook page thirty eight which specifically states that no betting may take place on any sort of school competition. I would never dream of breaking any rules, Principal Lorelei." Melody waved at her, and Lorelei let out a quiet snort as she continued to check her tablet. "However, I have been taking bets on Misty's love life. See, she's recently broke up with Gary Oak, who I'm sure you've heard of. His family is very important in your business. Most bets are currently on when she'll get together with your student, Ash Ketchum. Now, with you having a great deal of personal influence in his life, I could see this bet being a very good investment for you."

"Young lady," he said steadily, glaring down at her. "I'm the Master of Kanto. Last week I ran a raid on a large base of Team Rocket in Fuschia City. What in the word makes you think I could care in the slightest who my student dates?"

Melody flushed, and rushed away, notebook of bets clutched tightly to her chest.

"You need to teach Ash how to do that."

"He already knows how." Lance shrugged. "He simply uses it less often than me."

* * *

Minutes before the match, Ash snuck up behind her. He giggled when she jumped, tugging her close with his arms around her waist and head on her shoulder. He whispered softly in her ear, "You ready to get pounded into the dust?" and delighted in the feel of a shiver running through her. She peeled his arms off her, sticking her tongue out and him, and he yanked her close again. He couldn't help himself. Adrenaline pumped through him like mad, and every touch he made on her skin felt like a friendly spark off Pikachu's cheeks.

She laughed, squeezing the hands that gripped her waist. "In your dreams, Ketchum. You don't stand a chance."

_I'm so excited I could kiss you._

Their names were called, and they broke apart, standing across from one another. She scanned the arena, surprised. She hadn't seen one like this in her school competition before. Large brine pool, with several rocks sticking up throughout, all spaced far enough apart that her gyarados could weave through them with ease. In the middle, there was a large, flat slab of earth, big enough for a venusaur to stand on. It went straight to the bottom, for no easy hits to flip it over and dumped whatever stood on it in the water. And, of course, she couldn't help but grin as she noticed that the first few rows of seat were completely sectioned off, and the gates to the bleachers and gym were all boarded up.

She spoke before the judge could get a chance, "You know, Ketchum, I feel like something funny's going on here."

"You think?" he said casually, glancing around the room. It was packed to the brim and silent. "I think they're expecting something."

"I think they want a show." She laughed, almost dizzy with excitement.

The referee awkwardly cleared his throat, and began, "This is a three on three battle-"

"We know the rules," Misty said bluntly, reaching for her first pokémon and expanding the ball in her hand.

Ash's eyes were hard on hers, and though she could see the exhilaration in them, the rest of his face was even. "You might want to get out of the way."

He did.

The next moment there were two flashes of light. Misty's gyarados was quick to slither under the water, while Ash's kingler perched calmly on the middle island. The first round was quick enough. Ash's kingler was sturdy, but out of water r in it stood no chance against Misty's gyarados. Though it landed several blows, Gyarados was quick, biting and tackling and throwing waves of water until the kingler had gone unconscious. It wasn't a very exciting battle, not for the adueince, as most of it took place underwater. It wasn't explosive either, and Misty was quite certain as to why.

Kingler was a throwaway, something to weaken the pokémon she normally started with. As predicted, Pikachu was the next to leap onto the field, pacing around the edge of the platform. She'd seen Pikachu's strength, and knew that in Gyarados' current condition, it couldn't take a single electrical hit. There was a long stretch of quiet, and Misty finally knelt down to the edge of the water, spreading her hand flat and tapping on the edge of the glass. Too quiet for Ash to hear, though she couldn't help but grin as she saw him start to frown.

"It's a four times weakness, Ash. Did you think I didn't have any tricks up my sleeve?"

Gyarados pounced suddenly, mouth wide as it shot a steady stream of water at the mouse. The water clipped Pikachu's shoulder, but only that, as the mouse was quick enough to dart out of the way. Misty continued her tapping, silent commands being her only chance of getting the Pikachu. Only a couple of direct hits would do it, but it didn't look like she was going to get them. She grit her teeth as the battle rose in speed. Pikachu bounce from each of the rocks at Ash's command, barely a delay between the word and the completion of the action. Gyarados chased her, snapping and missing at her tail until his frustration rose.

With a roar, he began to slam himself against the rock as he passed them, sending them flying out of the arena and crumbling to the bottom of the water. Pikachu's leaping spots became fewer and fewer, giving the mouse fewer places to use its Agility. Not that it mattered by then - Pikachu moved so fast Misty's eyes could barely follow it, and she moved before Ash could even give her the orders. Gyarados was slowing, having used too much of its strength on destroying the rocks and fainting Kingler.

Misty growled, and decided to try her luck, ordering gyarados to charge a hyper beam while Pikachu's cheek sparked with a kept back attack. The second it was charged, he rose out of the water, but Pikachu caught him quickly. With his mouth aimed up, the Hyper Beam shot into the sky while a Thunder sparked around him, tearing a roar from his throat until he collapsed and she had to withdraw him. She fingered the two at her belt, waiting. Ash's advantage would be lost on Starmie, and he would know it. No water trainer worth anything carried a starmie who hadn't trained in electricity, and hers was no difference. No double weakness for it, so Pikachu's type advantage wouldn't be worth a thing. On the other hand, Ash hadn't seen the third she'd brought today - no one had.

She grabbed Starmie's pokeball - she would keep her third in reserve and hope that Ash's third wouldn't be lucky against it. The battle with Pikachu was even simpler. With no where for Pikachu to run, and starmie taking only light damage from the electric attacks, blunt force was the easiest solution. Starmie pounded at Pikachu again and again, until the mouse could gave a loud squeal and fainted. A moment later, Ash had yanked off his vest and dove in, taking Pikachu back to his side, now soaking wet from head to toe.

"Trying to win a wet t-shirt contest, Ketchum?"

He laughed. "Why, are you up for one?" He released his third, Charizard onto the field and smirked at her surprised face. "I know he's not exactly a water type, but he can still arrange that."

As if to prove his point, the massive fire lizard flew around the arena, one wing dipping into the water and sending a wave splashing onto her. She growled, wiping sticky hair from her face, and it was back to business. She had Starmie send a thunderbolt, which his charizard dodged effortlessly. He swept around grabbing her starmie in his claws as he soared upward, flying out of the retracted ceiling until he was a spec in the sky. Misty crossed her fingers, knowing the pointlessness of it. The seismic toss of Charizard's left her starmie without a chance, and soon its jewel was blinking.

She withdrew it, gripping her final pokémon. Type trumping wasn't everything, she knew that, but it was an advantage, however slight. Water had an advntage against Charizard, and though her starmie had barely gotten in a single hit, it was still a slightly damaged Charizard. Her pokémon was fresh, and it was fully evolved - just like his. What's more, she'd seen his charizard once or twice, knew how he battled with his heavy hitter. Ash had never seen this. n fact, she wouldn't have been surprised if she had never run into a pokémon of that species before. It had been a bitch to get after all.

He had a single eyebrow raised, standing in water and mud and rubble from the arena they'd already trashed. She realized he had no idea what was coming. And then, with a bit of amusement bubbling up inside her, she realized it didn't matter in the slightest.

She released Kingdra.

The next few minutes were blurry. They called out attacks rapidly, their pokémon dodging and counterattacking in endless motion. Charizard went in for a Seismic Toss, and Kingdra slammed him with a Brine. He threw up a Hydro Pump that soaked Misty and Ash once again, but Ash had long since given Chrizard orders to swerve around it. The two stared at each other, panting as water dripped off them and pooled in the mud that surrounded their feet. Charizard gave a roar, and Kingdra snorted quietly.

"Flame Blast."

It hit once, and Misty had to stumble back slightly from the heat. Water hissed and sizzled away, and she swore, screaming at Kingdra to hit Charizard while he had the chance. Hydro Pumps, Bubblebeam, Dragon Pulse, anything it had was tossed into Charizard as the beast flamed again and again, boiling the water away until her Kingdra could barely move. Misty clenched her fists at her sides, flicking through the moves Kingdra knew. She called for a Draco Meteor, and hoped. Charizard didn't have the strength or speed to dodge it, but it didn't matter.

A Slash had ended it. Her kingdra was KOed, and his Charizard was standing. Swaying, panting, and covered in sweat and mud and water, but standing nevertheless.

She couldn't help but laugh as she withdrew him. She expected anger or disappointment or jealousy. It had been years since she had lost when she had pulled her best team from her reserves, after all, and she remembered being furious the last time it had happened. Instead, she just felt giddy, just as she had before the match. She couldn't remember the last time she had enjoyed herself so thoroughly, when the last time she had actually done her best and gotten a challenge in return. Her mind spun with the details of the match, and all she wanted was a good night's sleep and a chance to go at him again in the morning.

"Ash Ketchum, you're fucking unbelievable."

"Not so bad yourself." He grinned, breathing just as hard as she was. Ash gave a breathless laugh. "Yeah, a decent teacher but you got schooled on the battlefield."

"And now that I remember you're an idiot I feel _all _better about losing."

She turned towards the crowd, realizing there had been no applause. There was a stunned silence in the crowd, and she was suddenly uncomfortable. The stadium was destroyed, with rocks and mud and water and dirt reaching high enough that people in the lowest part of the stands were dirtied. In fact, she felt a blush rise up her cheeks as she noticed Lorelei and Lance in the front row, both wet and muddy. Lorelei calm as ever, looking up at her calmly, and Lance grinning like he'd won something.

The man stood up, facing the crowd, shouting to be heard. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is what a fight between two untrained League Trainers looks like. Keep in mind, _untrained. _These two have not yet committed to serious training with the League. I now that several League officials are here, and several professional trainers, many of whom suggested the precautions and extra expense taken for this battle was overkill. I hope you report to your superiors that, if anything, your average trainer school cannot meet the demands of League Trainers."

Lorelei stood up as well, her voice softer but still carrying through the stadium. "As always, any questions, comments, job offers and the like are to be submitted to the school board. We've had problems before, and keep in mind that harassing any student on campus is grounds for immediate removal and a ban from the premises. Any harassment outside the school will result with punishment to the fullest extent the law will allow. Our school is meant to be a safe place, and expressing a skill is something we aim to reward, not punishment with an endless parade of reporters and people intending to profit off our students' abilities. The exits are unlocked. Students, I recommend going to your dorms. You know how people can get around this time of year."

The group began to file out, and Lance and Lorelei went into the arena to get their students, both of whom were shaking slightly. Misty took a nervous step back as Lorelei approached her, nearly slipping in the mud and turning redder as her voice cracked. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin-"

"Hush, you didn't ruin anything." she took Misty's hand and led her to Ash and Lance. "Our Champion here has his own agenda, that's all. This battle was expected to go the way it did. You did nothing wrong, and you battled wonderfully. No one was injured, all the pokémon were fine. Right, Master Lance?"

"Both of you did fantastic," he said warmly, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Really. If anything, I would have liked to get you a stadium larger and studier. The League never believes me when I claim this arena can be too limiting for top tier students. if we'd dared to do six on six this place wouldn't have stood a chance of staying up."

"Lance, they're children," Lorelei said coolly. "Stop that. You're frightening them."

He looked at the two, then nodded, backing off slightly. "Sorry. You two go back to the locker rooms and wash up, alright? You're both a mess and I'm sure nothing sounds better than a hot shower and a warm bed, right?"

Ash and Misty walked their separate ways, each cleaning off in the locker room before heading home. If Misty was surprised to see Ash waiting for her when she had finished changing, she didn't show it. She walked with hi, side by side, until they finally had to split to go to their separate dorms, which they did ever so reluctantly, and both of them spent most of their night staring at the pokeballs in their bags, wondering whether they were excited or afraid of some mixture of both.

* * *

Misty awkwardly picked at her breakfast, swallowing the lump in her throat as her two friends sat in silence across from her. "You're scared of me."

"No, we're not," May said quickly, stirring her instant oatmeal. "Why would we be afraid of you?"

"My pokémon destroyed an arena. You didn't know I had any that tough, did you?"

"Of course not! I've seen your gyarados before."

"Oh, shut _up_, May," Dawn snapped. "You think you're fooling anyone? You're as scared as the rest of us. Sure, we knew she had a gyarados up her sleeve. They're hard to train, they're scary. We all expected that. You're going to be an Elite, of course you have something tough on your team. But that's not it. She doesn't have just one. She has at least three, and I'm betting she has more than that. No pokémon I've trained could come close to destroying a stadium. I don't know anyone who has pokémon who could wreck a place that's literally built to withstand a battle. It's terrifying."

Dawn's hand shook as her fist clenched around her spoon. "I'm sorry, Misty, but I kept the betting thing a secret from you and it only turned out worse. I'm not hiding anything else. What you and Ash did in that room was terrifying. If the doors hadn't been locked and I hadn't known that the safest place I could be was right where I was, pressed up against the wall in the back row, I would have run out of there like crazy. Don't you dare say you wouldn't have, May. You were as scared as I was. You would have run too."

She took a drink of her milk, trying to get rid of the lump that was making it so hard to breathe. "I'd never hurt anyone."

"Not on purpose." May ducked her head as Misty's eyes snapped to her, wide and hurt. "I'm sorry, Misty. I just…how can you blame me for being just a little bit scared? I know you'd never released your pokémon on someone, and I know you'd never hurt someone with them on purpose, but one wrong move in a battle usually means someone goes to the hospital. One wrong move in a battle with you and Ash and…well, I don't think any hospital around could fix what would be left."

"I'd _never_," Misty said firmly, nails digging into her palms. She shook her head furiously. "Never, never in a million years would I let anything like that happen. I know all the safety rules. I know how to do things. I've never violeted a single one, not ever. I would never do anything to put any of you at risk."

"Don't be an idiot, Misty," Dawn said, her voice soft. "Training is dangerous. We all know that. it doesn't matter is you follow all the rules, things still happen. Accident. Things go wrong, and everyone around here is prepared for that. A broken bones, poisoning, even burns. But you're not playing at our level, you understand? We're playing paintball and you're loaded with bullets. You're still our friend, and we now you'd never hurt us, but this is scary. We need some time to get used to it, and… and you can't get mad at us for being afraid. We can't control that. It's not our fault."

"It's not my fault either!" she said desperately. "I'm just…I'm just good at something. That's all it is! It's just a sport. It's just-"

"Then why didn't you ever tell me you could do that?"

Silence stretched across the table.

"I didn't think you had to know. It wasn't like I ever had to do anything like that before to win. Besides, I've never entered a competition like that before. I mean, I've never entered one where I got to use my best team. You know, thanks to Lorelei's caps and everything."

May blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"You know, Lorelei's level caps. This was the first time she said I could use pokémon above it. I guess because they got permission to do it." She looked at May's baffled face. "What? They don't have them in contests."

"Arceus, Misty," Dawn whispered. "They don't have them for _anyone_. We go out there using our best. I don't know what the hell Lorelei told you, but every trainer you've faced is walking out there with their strongest team. There's no level cap. There's no restrictions. That's just for you."

Misty shoved her tray towards May, the same feeling of dread and humiliation shooting through her that she'd had when the stadium stared. "I'm sorry. could you…I'm sorry, just, put this away for me. I have to go. I can't…I'm sorry."

* * *

When she came to him for tutoring, he spoke first, "None of them knew, did they?"

"No," she answered, dropping her books heavily on the table. "Honestly, I think I did it on purpose, a little bit. I mean, I didn't really know. I trained a few times with Lorelei, but that was different. It was during summer break, and were out in the ocean. She's not supposed to do it at all, but she did, and she did it in a place far away, so no one could see us battling so hard that it makes your friends scared of you. Still, think I figured it out, a little. I think I always knew, somehow, that there weren't level caps on anyone else's pokémon."

When she glanced at him, he was grinning. "You liar. You had no idea how far ahead we really are. Did you practice that speech for me, or were you going to tell that to May?"

"I don't know who I practiced it for. I already had an awkward talk with May about how I could accidentally kill someone." She sighed, falling back in the chair. "And it's scary, you know? And I get that, but you know what the worst part is? That if I turned around and told them how…how amazing that battle felt. How great it was to battle without any kind of stupid restriction and actually think and know where to push and where to hold back and know that my best is really my best for once, they'd look at me like I was a serial killer."

"They wouldn't. I don't think they'd get it, and it might freak them out a little, but they wouldn't look at you like that." He sat down next to her and put his head on her shoulder. "Mew, that wasn't amazing, wasn't it? That battle? I've never gotten to do anything like that. Not a challenge. It was always someone who I knew I was going to beat or someone I knew I was going to lose to. I didn't know if I was going to win or lose that. Battling is that best thing in the world, and that was one of the best battles ever. I think that might be one of the greatest days of my life."

"Get off and shut up," she said, flipping open a book.

"Alright, but I'm taking this." He quickly slid the hair tie that kept her ponytail up off her head, tucking it into his pocket and sticking his tongue out when she made a face, grabbing at the place where it had been.

"What's the point of that, you idiot?" she grumbled, still fumbling with her shoulder length hair. "That's my only hair tie. I don't carry them around with me. Give it back so I can get my stupid hair out of my face. Do you know how annoying it is to do stuff when my hair keeps trying to go everywhere?"

He grinned, fiddling with the hair tie in his pocket. He felt like he had before the match again, though not quite so intense. Giddy, delighted, playful. He took out the hair tie to wave it in front of her face, and snapped his hand back quick before she could grab it. "It can't be that annoying. Besides, you look better with your hair down anyway. Having your hair up like that always makes it look like you're working. When it's down you look like you're ready to have fun, and we already talked about you not having enough fun."

"And what am I going to do if it gets in my face? Huh? I don't have a headband or anything."

"Just brush it behind your ear, like this." He swept her hair behind her ear, his hand tingling, and laughed again when she slapped his hand away and blushed, diving right into their lecture on math.

He shifted his seat close to hers so he could easily get a look over her shoulder. Had she always been this warm when she sat next to him? She couldn't have been. No, it was just because his room was especially cold today and it made her seem warmer in comparison. That's what it was. His room was colder than usual. And he was still sleepy from yesterday's battle. That's why his eyes moved so slow over her, because he could barely keep them open as it was, and math was one of the most boring things in the world. He didn't know how to explain how his heart exploded and the fire ripped through him when she accidently set her hand on his thigh, though she yanked it back quick when she realized where she had put it.

"Your room is freezing," she stated, looking sadly at the blanket on his bed. He pushed away thoughts of the two of them getting under it together, and stopped himself before he could suggest giving her the blanket. She wouldn't have taken it, especially not with how resistant she was to cold. "Even I'm starting to feel uncomfortable. If you're cold, we could move somewhere else. It can be hard to focus if you aren't warm enough."

"No, it's fine here."

What better place could there be to study in his room? It was quiet and private. Alone. With the door closed. And a room so cold even Misty was trying to find some way to warm up. Except for Pikachu, he was the only source of heat, and he was warmer than Pikachu, even though she had fur. He'd seen the documentaries. When people got to cold, they were supposed to get naked and huddle up. Obviously they wouldn't do the naked part, they weren't getting hypothermia or anything, but maybe they could cuddle or…or…

He sighed, realizing she was looking at him with a question and he didn't understand the math she had been lecturing him on in the slightest. "Can we go over that again? I don't get it."

She shook her head, packing up her bags. "Forget it. We're moving now. You're always best right at the beginning of the lesson. If you can't focus now, it's not going to get any better if we wait. My room's a double. It has its own thermostat and everything. We won't be cold in there, so hopefully we can get a bit of studying done. Just don't draw attention to yourself. Girls sneak guys into the dorm all the time, and unless they make a big deal about it or start getting annoying late at night, no one says anything. I don't think anyone's going to make a fuss about you coming over."

He gathered up his own supplies, following her over the ice covered sidewalks, just starting to melt as the spring sun was coming out. Outside was chillier than his own room, and he scolded himself for not grabbing a coat before he left. Then he scolded himself for not bringing Pikachu along when he knew that Misty didn't have a roommate, and that they would be left completely alone, without even Pikachu to keep an eye on them, in a room warm enough that being fully clothed wasn't a necessity. He nearly walked into the door to the building just thinking about it.

She clucked her tongue at him. "Dumbass."

"Shut up! It's cold outside and I'm trying to figure out all the math you were talking about."

"_You_ shut up. I just told you you're not supposed to be in here, and you're yelling and attracting attention the second we get in the door. Hence, dumbass."

"You're always in the boys' dorm!" he shouted, louder than he needed to. He grin when she scowled at him. "What's with the double standard? That's sexist."

"There's no double standard! Girls aren't supposed to be in the boys' dorms either. The only reason I can go is because Lorelei gave me a pass for tutoring you. If she caught me in any other guy's room I'd get that pass removed and we'd have to study in the library with that bitchy old librarian who doesn't even want you to talk in the study rooms. You're don't have any kind of pass to be in here, so _shut up _before one of the tattletales hears you and gets us both in trouble."

She unlocked her room, letting him stroll in. He was surprised that she left it plain, about as plain as his room. He thought she would have taken the time to decorate it, put up pictures or something, but, aside from the sheets, the room looked as empty as his was the day he moved in. "That's not fair. It's not like I'm doing anything. May if I was looking through girls' underwear drawers or something weird like that, but I'm just being all polite and being a good student, happy to learn about geometry or whatever."

"Algebra, you idiot. We're doing algebra. Why did I think leaving your room was a good idea?"

"My room's cold." he jumped onto her bed, the only bit that was personalized, covered in blue bubbles. "Did you bring your own mattress? This is way nicer than mine."

"I fought a girl for that mattress. It's the best one in the school." She glared. "Ruin it and you're a dead man. Get off."

He bounced on it lightly. "You fought a girl over a mattress? You know that's crazy, right?"

She crossed her arms, looking down at him. "Come on, I've got to sleep in that. You're going to make it smell all sweaty."

"It smell like a guy, with all kinds of pheromones with it. It'll make you feel like the best hunter in the tribe is watching over you." He fell back on her bed, sprawled out. "If we were cavemen, I would definitely be the best hunter in the tribe. I'd use Pikachu to zap the river and get all the fish."

"I'm sure cavefathers would pay a whole tauros to marry their daughters to you." She leaned over him, smirking. "Now, come on. I know math isn't fun, but we've got to get your homework done. It's my job, you know."

"And your hair is down. That's the end of work Misty. Let's break out a DVD and have fun Misty."

Not knowing what possessed him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and dragged her onto the bed she gave out a little squeal of protest as she toppled back against him. She turned to glare at him, face an inch away, and he felt a shiver go down his spine. No pushing, no slapping, no furious yells of him to get off or kicks and elbows and bites to let him know she was serious about it. Just a pair of slightly upturned lips saying, "I'm not gonna be fun Misty on a work day, not it I can help it. and since you can't make me, you should just be work Ash."

"Is that a challenge?"

She wiggled slightly, looking the slightest bit nervous. She didn't answer for a while, then finally stuck her tongue out at him and grinned. "It is."

That was all the permission he needed. He dug his fingers into her sides and she squirmed, managing to hold back her laughter for a few moments before it came breaking free. She wrestled him back, hitting a few ticklish spots here and there before deciding to wrestle him instead. she seemed to be more ticklish, so she didn't think she'd win that fight. Instead, she worked on getting his hands away, pinning them to the mattress with every chance she got until she managed to catch him at the right angle, pinning him perfectly to the mattress - sitting on the soft part of his stomach so bucking her off made it harder to breathe, with his hands flat on either side of his head.

"See? Work Misty wins."

He grinned. "I'm not done yet."

"You seem pretty done to me. Don't think you're going to shake me off anytime soon, and your hands are pinned so there's no more tickling." She made a face at him. "Which is cheating and not fair. You can't engage someone in a tickle fight if one person's way more ticklish. That's like challenging a blind person to Pictionary."

"I took your hair band because I think you're prettier when it's down." she looked surprised, and her grip loosened slightly. He smirked and felt her shiver. "It doesn't matter. I think you're beautiful either way. It's just a lot easier to imagine kissing you when it's down, so I can think about grabbing it and pulling you closer to me."

Her grip was loose, and though all he had planned was to knock her off and tease her for falling for it, when he sat up and found her sitting in his lap, her breath mingling with his and her green eyes dark, he couldn't help himself. He set his hands on her hips and leaned just the slightest bit closer, and was surprised to find that she closed the gap between them. Next thing he knew his hands were scratching her hips, tugging her closer so her chest was pressed flush against his, hot and heaving with her heavy breaths.

Misty moaned, and, at any other time, it would have been embarrassing. Gary's kisses were chaste, and she'd never made any kind of sound with him, not even the couple times they'd Frenched. This time, she couldn't care, not when his lips and breath and hands were so hot she could hardly breathe from it. Besides, his hands were on the bare skin of her waist, and it sent sparks through her. Now that her mouth was open, his tongue was on hers, and though some distant thought reminded her that she should have been stopping, that this wasn't a dream, the rest of her was far too curious about some strange twirling thing he was doing with his tongue in her mouth. She tried to duplicate it and he laughed a bit, doing it again.

She pushed, and he toppled back so she laid on top of him. She pushed her tongue roughly against his and was finally rewarded with a moan from him. Her heart skipped a beat and her hands raced along him, scratching over his t-shirt and looking for the hem to slip under it. At some point, his lips had come off hers and wandered to her neck, kissing down to her collarbone, where his teeth finally closed around her skin, biting just hard enough to hurt and more than enough to make her toes curl and pull a throaty, "Ash," out of her.

That was enough to snap them out of it, and they sprang apart, faces red.

"Misty, I'm so sorry!" he cried, leaning against her headboard and desperately trying to restrain himself from throwing away his sense of self and dragging her back on top of him. "You…you were probably-"

"The rebound," she gasped, hand over her heart. "And I started it because I'm on the rebound. I'm sorry."

He swallowed. "It never happened, right?"

"Oh Mew no," she breathed. She shook her head, standing up. "And if it did on accident, we didn't like it."

"No, we didn't," he said slowly, pulling a pillow over to cover his lap.

She sighed, keeping her eyes on his lips. "Right."

* * *

Can't make it much more obvious than that, I think.. Good luck to you, hunters of sexual references!


	23. Homestretch

My inspiration for this chapter came from bathing in the blood of virgins. Give it a try sometime. I hear it also gives you a shot at immortality.

* * *

"So, you two kissed."

"That's what I said, Brock." He took a deep breath in, taking in the heavenly smell of cooking cookie dough. "You know, you have loads of those. If you just gave me one-"

"It's for charity, Ash. No cookies. No raw dough. Not until I make sure I have all the ones I promised to make." He set the mixer on low and glanced back at the boy with a sigh. "Focus, though. You kissed Misty. She just…let you kiss her and didn't say anything. Didn't slap you, or punch you, or ask for a restraining order."

Ash grinned. "Is that how your kisses end?"

Brock rolled his eyes. "That's so weird, thinking about the two of you making out. I mean, I knew it was coming, but I didn't think it would happen this soon. I thought you two would have to graduate before you even thought about making a move on one another. Oh, well, teenage hormones and all. Can't believe little Misty's grown up so fast."

"Little Misty? What, 'cuz you're so old?" Ash snorted.

"I've known her since I was four, remember? We're both gym leaders, our families know each other, we've met from time to time." Brock flipped the mixer on high, raising his voice to talk over it. "It's just weird, because I started hitting on girls by the time I knew her, right? I was nine, and that's early, but still. Five years felt like forever back then."

Ash's mouth dropped open in shock. "You're five years…how are you still in school? I thought you were smart!"

"We've been over this!" Brock snapped. "This is the third time, Ash, I'm a teaching assistant. I help teach the breeding campus. I get room and board for free. How many times do I have to explain this to you?"

"At least four, I guess." He stared as Brock pulled out the sheet of cookies and moved them to a cooling rack one by one. "So, how old are you?"

"Misty's age plus five."

"Don't make me do math."

"It's _addition_, Ash." Brock glared at him, and seeing that Ash was quite clearly going to refuse to do any kind of math at all, he shifted back to the subject at hand. "Alright, so, all weirdness aside, how much did you guys do? Was it a quick peck and you ran away? Did you kiss for a while? Did you guys French? Have se-"

"Not that far!" he blurted, blushing. "I mean, I think we got kind of far. There was tongue, I think."

"What, you don't know? Weren't you there?"

"Well, I don't know." He rubbed the back of his neck, ducking his head away from the older boy. "Everything blurred and there wasn't anything I could think about but kissing her, you know? I didn't know what I was doing because I've never kissed a girl before, but I liked whatever I was doing, and she seemed to like it, so I kept going. And it just felt really awesome and I didn't want to stop. I mean, if you had told me if I stopped kissing her you would make me a pokémon master? Would have kept kissing. It's really weird."

"Also not true."

"Oh, totally not true." Ash rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. "I mean, all it took was her saying my name and it was over. It wasn't even a freak out or anything. She was just saying my name, and we both freaked out and jumped apart and then we said we would never talk about it again. I don't think _she's_ going to talk about it again, but I don't think I couldn't not talk about it. It was my first kiss and everything. The first kiss I actually wanted, anyway, and I think that's kind of important. The first kiss you actually want is probably more important than some crazy girl trying to kiss you so you can marry her and help her family get a monopoly in the pokémon market."

Brock frowned. "Not fair. I spend all my time trying to get girls to kiss me and apparently girls are all over you when you don't even want them. What's your secret, Ash?"

"Treating them like human beings is a good start." Ash scratched Pikachu gently under the chin, and, urge on by her cooing, set her on her back so her could start to massage her cheeks. "Don't tell anyone about me and Misty, though. I don't think she wants to think about it, and if anyone finds out this happened I'm pretty sure she'll freak. I kind of want this to keep going and work out, but if everyone at school is trying to get us together to win Melody's bet it's just gonna fall apart. Stupid Melody and her stupid bet."

"Maybe she'll take you back to Cerulean and you won't have to worry about it. If she lets it spill to her sisters, I'm sure they'll make you come." Brock took a small ice cream scoop and began lumping out pieces of dough onto the tray, and while his back was turned Ash gave Pikachu a wink and sent her scurrying off to grab a couple of cooled cookies in her jaws, dropping them into his backpack. "Besides, she's got the lead in the show this year. That's a good enough reason for them to drag you over there."

"They'd make me come over to see her act?"

"No, they'd make you come over because they'll be doing their best to get their little sister a boyfriend, and you just happen to be the first candidate that's popped up. The show's just a great excuse. Misty's brought friends home to see the shows before, After all." Brock slid the cookies into the oven and turned around with a long sigh. "You know, this would go a lot faster if I didn't have to keep out how many cookies you're stealing. Can't you just tell me so I know how many more I need to make?"

Ash smirked, taking a cookie from his backpack. "It's _subtraction_, Brock."

* * *

"Hey, Daisy," Misty said sheepishly, the door to the video phone booth shut securely behind her. The blonde was glaring, her arms crossed over her chest, and Misty couldn't help but pout. "That's no fair. You don't even know what I did and you're giving me the same look as when I switched the salt and sugar in the school kitchen. I'm not wasting anyone's money or anything, and you can look at my grades. You have my password to check them all online, you know. I'm doing great in school. I'm going to graduate in the top of my class."

She arched an eyebrow. "So, what'd you do?"

"You don't know I did something wrong. I do things right all the time."

"Fine," she said, calm as ever. "What'd you want?"

"I could be calling to say hello."

"And I could be a brunette. What do you want, Misty? If you're not ready to tell me, call back when you're done being coy. I have better things to do than listen to you say stupid stuff about the weather until you're ready to tell me how you set a building on fire. There better not be a burning building, Misty, I swear, we've only got so much cash-"

"It's not a money thing!" Misty snapped. She bit her lip. "It's a boy thing."

That got Daisy's attention. She leaned forward, eyes wide. "Oh, no way. I heard about the whole Gary thing, you breaking up with hiim and all. I hope he didn't try to make you have sex or anything, because it's your body, Misty. You choose what to do. You can sleep with loads of guys or never sleep with anyone, but no one can tell you what to do. Well, if you're sleeping with lots of guys we probably need to talk about birth control and condoms and other barrier stuff. At least you said it's a boy thing. It's really hard to find out how lesbians have sex. It just leads to porn sites."

Misty's nose wrinkled. "Why were you looking up how lesbians have sex?"

"Oh, please. Like you don't want to know."

"Not really." She took a deep breath. "See, I kissed-"

"It's mostly oral, by the way, with a lot of manual stimulation. You have to use dental dams to have safe sex."

"Why would you tell me that?" she hissed. "I just told you I didn't care."

"I don't know. Maybe you were going to tell me you kissed a girl. Experimenting is normal in a girl your age. I just wanted to let you know that I'm prepared and that you can still get a disease and die." She paused for a moment. "Not that I looked it all up for you. Violet thought you were gay, but I didn't. I just wanted to know how it worked, because you always see it in porn but I saw this other video where lesbians reacted to lesbian porn, and they were talking about how painful and uncomfortable it-"

"I kissed Ash!" Misty said in a rush, desperate to get the story out before Daisy continued her lecture on the curiosities of lesbian sex. "We were in my room because his room was cold and we were just playing and messing around, and all of a sudden it was just…it was all different and he leaned really close and I'm pretty sure I kissed him. I don't even think he kissed me, Daisy, not at first. I think I kissed him first! And I don't know what's wrong with me! I just got out of a relationship, I can't go around kissing guys. I'm level headed and smart

and everything! Daisy, I don't know what's wrong with me."

"You're a nymphomaniac. It runs in the family."

"That's a real disease! It wasn't that! I…I…"

"You're a horny seventeen year old. Wow. This had never happened before. Alert the media." She rolled her eyes and twirled her finger in a mock celebration. "Misty, we come from a sexual family to begin with. We're House of Moltres, and the reputation didn't spring up out of nowhere. Nobody expected you to be a prude forever. The oly thing we were trying to figure out was if you were gay or straight or some wonderful mixture of the two. Which you still totally can be, and we would love you just like we always have."

"Very encouraging, but I'm not interested in girls, so this really isn't the time. And I'm not a prude! I just never met a guy that…" She trailed off, feeling her face heat at Daisy's grin.

"Revs your engine?"

"Stop with the innuendos!"

"I haven't been using innuendos except for that last one. I can drop the innuendo and say exactly what I mean. Want that?"

Misty rubbed her cheeks, somehow hoping she could get rid of the heat in them. "No, I don't. I just want to know how to fix this."

"You're attracted to a guy. Unless the rest of the story is you telling me how he didn't want to be with you, or how he was horrified by the kiss, or you did something really, really bad afterwards, there's nothing to do. It happens to pretty much everyone, Misty. So it happened to you later than most, who cares? You can deal with this like you're twelve and just got your first crush, or you can deal with it like an adult and know that sex happens, and we need to get you condoms so you don't get pregnant and get a disease and die."

"I' not going to sleep with him!"

"Maybe, maybe not, but you like him, and you already showed that you don't exactly have perfect self-control." She grinned as Misty refused to meet her gaze through the camera. "So, for break, when you come home make sure you invite your cute little boyfriend over and we'll go shopping for condoms together. It'll be fun, really."

"Ash would never come to Cerulean. It's a stupid city." She glared. "And you can't take him condom shopping. His mom won't be okay with that."

"I'll talk to his mom. Even if she says no, he's a grown boy. I think he can handle carrying a condom in his pocket so he doesn't ruin his life with one mistake."

"You can't tell her! You can't tell anyone! This whole thing is a secret!"

"Oh, really? It's a secret. You know what's not a secret?" Daisy asked. "_AIDS_. AIDS doesn't care if it's a secret, and neither does the egg in your uterus that could be fertilized into a baby of death at any moment. Still happened. You can't be in denial about a disease. So swear and curse and refuse to think you have any human emotions or lust inside you, but don't forget that accidents happen. Start thinking about condoms. I'm here if you need advice, on sex, boys, or anything, but I can't do anything if all you're going to say is how weird it is you're attracted to a guy."

"I'm not attracted to him," she muttered.

"And if you're going to do that, I definitely can't help. What do you want from me, Misty? To tell you you're remembering it wrong and he kissed you and you pushed him off right away and said that you didn't like him? I wasn't there, Misty. I don't know what happened. I can't tell you that you didn't do that, but from what you remember that's not what happened. What you're telling me sounds like you like a guy, and you want to kiss him, and you want to do a whole lot more than kissing, and it's freaking you out. So, instead of talking about how scared you are, you're just going to refuse it's happening."

Misty whispered, plucking at the cord of the phone. "I'm not scared."

Daisy smiled. "Like I said. Invite the boy for spring break or I'll do it myself. If you want to really talk about what's going on, I'm always here. Now I'm going to buy a cashmere sweater and pretend I don't have to deal with my baby sister thinking about having sex."

* * *

May took a few deep, calming breaths, before striding quickly down the hallway to Drew's locker. The dance had been fu. Not exciting, really. They had danced and drank punch and laughed and hung out with a few other friends. They mostly celebrated Drew's recent victory in the school's contest, with some talk about what they planned to do for break and how they had been doing in school. Drew had even given her a peck on the lips when they had parted the night. If that wasn't success, she didn't know what was.

She leaned against his locker, trying to look as cool as he did. "That dance was really fun. It's be awesome to go to one of those again, huh?"

"Yeah."

She bit her lip. "I mean, it was really fun with you there. Being with you just made the night. I can't wait until we could do that again. It's too bad they're so far away, though, but maybe there's something else we could do."

"I don't get why you can't just ask me out." He chuckled, shoving his books deep into his backpack. "I can't make it any clearer that I like you. You know if you ever got the courage to ask e out, I'd say yes. But you can't. Really, May, it's sad. I can only hope one day you'll overcome your crippling unable-to-ask-out-boys disorder so we can finally have a nice night together."

"I don't have a disorder!" She blushed and scuffed her food on the floor. "And I can _too _ask you out."

"Prove it." He smirked. "Ask me out."

"I don't want to ask you out now, you self-centered jerk! Besides, you're the boy! You're supposed to ask me out on a date, not the other way around!" She stomped her foot as the bell rang, students beginning to swarm to their afterschool activities that would be starting within the next ten minutes.

"Don't be sexist, May," he chided teasingly. "I'm a modern man. I'll cook, I'll clean, I'll do the dishes. Hey, I'll even stay home and take care of the kids. But that means you have to step up too, May. I don't want to ask you out. I like being chased, makes a guy feel special. Whenever you're ready to show me how much I mean to you, give me a call. You know my number."

He tweaked her nose, but before May could say anything, Misty had grabbed her hand and was leading her down the hall into the nearest school bathroom. The blue eyed girl gave a dramatic sigh and let Misty do so, knowing that she wasn't about to ask Drew out and knowing full well she had absolutely nothing better to do at the moment than listen to Misty complain. So she played games on her phone, patiently waiting until all the girls had filed out of the bathroom and let the two of them alone together. She went to the door and leaned against it without being told, knowing her friend wouldn't want anyone barging in on them.

"May, Daisy says that I have to invite Ash to Cerulean this year."

"Cool!" May beamed. "Oh, that'll be awesome. Ash is going to love that gym."

"It's not that, May! Of course I'd love for him to see the gym! The gym is gorgeous and he's into pokémon so he better know how amazing it is." She sighed, glaring at her reflection in the mirror. "It's everything else. There's really just going to be me and him most of the time. My sisters work, and they'll have to set up the show. And, if you remember, that's the stupid show I have to act in So he's going to see me up onstage all dressed up stupid and…it's going to be so humiliating, May."

"Misty, you're a good actress. What's wrong with him seeing you act? It's not like you're going to be wearing nothing but a gold bikini." She paused for a moment. "Uh, your sisters aren't forcing you to dress up in a gold bikini, are they?"

"No, of course not. I wouldn't wear it if they wanted me too, and they know that. I just don't want him to think of me as this idiot, bimbo, stupid…ugh. I don't like the character I have to play and it's embarrassing. I hate it. I hate it, but I have to, because the gym needs it, and I have to take care of the gym. I've always taken care of the gym. It's mine, anyway. I've got to take care of it. Or hand it off." She hung her head. "Just one more year and I don't have to face any of this again. No more struggling with the gym's finances. No more plays. No more of my sisters having to do all this weird stuff so I can finish up my schooling."

May grinned. "That's good, isn't it?"

"I don't know. Is it? I feel like I'm settling down. I shouldn't be settling down at seventeen. Isn't that what you do when you're forty and you already did everything fun in the world and you're ready to die?" Misty asked, sighing. "I mean, you don't get a job you're supposed to have for the rest of your life right out of high school, do you? I don't think you do. I mean, maybe some people do, but not most people. This is weird, isn't it?"

"Misty, being an Elite isn't the end of the world, and neither is a play." May stepped away from the door and gave her a warm hug around her shoulders. "This is a good thing. It'll help you figure out what you want to do about everything. You can sort things out with Ash, come back to school, and start everything over. You'll be fine, Misty, you'll be great. It's all going to work out perfect."

She shook her head at her reflection. "May, I don't know what I'm doing anymore. I don't have a course set. I don't have anything planned for this."

"Well, I didn't have a plan for asking Drew out to the dance, and I managed that. Come on, Misty, you're not going to tell me you're more cowardly than I am, are you?" She bumped Misty with her hip. "Come on, Ash isn't even scary. He's cute and adorable and clumsy, like a puppy. You can spend a week alone with him. He's just a boy."

"We've covered this. Ash isn't a boy. He's clearly some weird god of pokémon sent from the heavens to show us the path to ultimate battling."

"And you play in his league, so what are you?" May accused. She grinned at Misty's scowl. "He's not any better than you, and you're no better than me. It's just battling, Misty. Outside of battle, he's Ash. And you're Misty. And you both kind of like each other and have no idea what you're doing. So, maybe you should just get to the make out closet and get over it, hmm?"

"Ash is coming no matter what I do, isn't he?"

"Yup, and you'll do fine, just like I asked Drew out," she chirped.

"You didn't ask him out. You asked him to the dance. Your next challenge is asking him out on an actual date."

"Oh." She coughed awkwardly. "So…so you heard that?"

"He really loves screwing with you, huh?"

* * *

Misty had fought asking Ash to her home with every fiber of her being. She spent the first few days ignoring the concept entirely. Then Daisy started sending texts, little reminders. Misty said she would do it the next day, claiming she was busy. On nights she had tutoring she claimed she turned her cell phone off and forgot to ask him. Then came the calls, constant, annoying, her sisters deciding to trade off on making her phone a constant bomb of noise and alerts. She answered them, asking for three hours of silence to locate Ash and ask him. They agreed, and Misty turned her phone off in case they backed out of it.

"Why didn't you turn it off earlier?" Brock asked.

"They'll call the school and tell them to check on me because my phone's been off for the past few weeks and they're so worried I might have gotten into trouble." Misty rolled her eyes. "Anyway, is Ash in his room? My sisters want to invite him to the gym, probably to show off for whenever he gets to be the Champion. I don't think they understand that he doesn't have that much control over where the gym funds go."

"Or they're trying to hook the two of you up." Brock held up his cell phone and wiggled it. "You should know by now that Daisy has everyone's number on campus, especially since she found out you and I were hanging out together more."

"How does she even _know_?" Misty hissed. She crossed her arms. "So, Ash, where is he? Room?"

"Where else would he be? Even if he wasn't, you could have just knocked on his door, just like you knocked on mine. Just talk to him. The worst thing that happens is that he tells you no."

"Wrong. The worse thing that could happen is him telling me yes."

She spun away from him, stomping down the hall to bang on Ash's door. She heard a video game blaring from inside, and realized he hadn't heard her knock. Part of her wanted to leave right then, tell her sisters that she had given it a shot and failed, but she doubted that would work. That would just end up with Daisy using her superpowers to get Ash's phone number and asking him herself. And, if that didn't work, telling Mrs. Ketchum that the two of them were having sex and needed supervision and safe sex instruction immediately. That made her pound the door very, very hard.

The game went quiet, and Ash came to the door, looking confused. "It's not a tutoring day."

She cleared her throat, hands crossed tight over her chest and eyes refusing to meet his. "No, it's not. It's about…I'm, uh, supposed to invite you to Cerulean, if you want to go. It's not fun. You know, it's a smallish city, so it's got all of the pollution but none of the decent musicals. It's not even pretty. Pallet town is way nicer, so don't think you'll hurt my feelings if you say no. I barely want to go. I don't think you'd enjoy being there at all."

"No, it'll be fun," he said eagerly. "I'd love to go."

"Really? Because it'll only be me and you and my sisters. They're annoying and loud, I've told you about them. You're the only one I'm inviting, and I'll probably be busy a bunch. I do most of the gym chores. You'll be really bored. So, if you don't want to go, it really is fine. I don't care at all. Besides, we'd be leaving in a couple days. You probably don't have time to pack."

"It's alright. I have time. Besides, you can probably talk while doing most of your chores, right?" He swallowed as her gaze decided to focus on a nearby wall, avoiding him at all costs. He wanted to make her look at him, tug her into his room and have a good, loud argument so she would finally talk to him, but that could wait. "We have a lot to talk about."

Her eyes flicked to him quickly, briefly, just to make sure he was blushing as badly as she was. "Don't say that. People could be listening."

"Maybe it's not so bad if they are," he said uncertainly. "It might be something that could mess up some people's bets. We could have something really interesting to say."

She grit her teeth. "Don't say it."

"I'm not saying anything yet. I don't…I don't really want anyone hearing whatever I've got to say. All I'm saying now is that something happened. You know it happened, I know it happened, and you want to ignore it. Part of me does too, but a bigger part wants to figure out what's going on. I think it could go somewhere really good, but it won't go anywhere if we don't talk about it. So, yeah, I'll see you in Cerulean."

"Don't you dare laugh!" she snapped, making him jump. She moaned, running her hands through her hair as she internally cursed her own overreaction. She curbed her voice, continuing in a tone not nearly so terrifying, "When I do that…that stupid show, Ash, don't you dare laugh at me. I'll punch you right in the face if you do. So don't you dare."

He swallowed. "Uh, I won't. I'm sure I'll think it's awesome."

"Yeah, well, you're the only one I'm any good."

He stepped forward looking down the hallway both ways, before bending to give her a quick kiss on the lips. "Then I really am an idiot, because I don't just think you're good. I think you're amazing."

He closed the door before she could get the chance to yell at him.

* * *

Misty was still packed, which was useful in this one case. She didn't have anything to pack, really, considering she had backup bathroom supplies at home. So, on the day she had to leave for the train, she simply grabbed a pair of clothes out of her suitcase, tugged them on, and strode on out with her suitcase in hand and her backpack slung over her back. She was rushed by May almost immediately, the girl squealing and throwing her arms around Misty with wide, nervous eyes. Misty was quite proud that she had managed to stay upright when she had been slammed so hard.

"What's wrong?"

"You can't go yet!" she whined. "Drew says that I have to ask him out if I want to go on a date with him! I can't even listen to Dawn! I've asked her a million times and every time she just rambles that I should just ask him, because no one would ever turn her down and she doesn't understand rejection or anything! Also, I think she started dating Kenny at one point but she won't say and she gets all blushy and I don't know what that means! Does that mean that Dawn got nervous? If Dawn got nervous, how could I not?"

She sighed and gave May a hug, which didn't seem to work, so she pulled away. "Okay, I have a train to catch. You already asked Drew to the dance. This is pretty much the same thing. Especially since you already know he likes you. I mean, the odds of him turning you down are insane. It's not going to happen, so just pick up the phone and give him a call."

"What if he says no out of spite?"

Misty rolled her eyes, exasperated. "_Really?_"

"But what if he does!"

"Then why the hell would you _date _him? I mean, really May. If he says no out of spite, good riddance. That's a horrible asshole." She checked her watch. "Alright, listen. You promised me I'd do fine with Ash, and I'm doing it. I'm getting on a train right now. You're going to help me with it, so I'll help you. I'm going to stand right here, and I'll hold your hand, and you can call Drew and ask him out. If you don't, I'll just stand here and miss the train. Imagine all the money that would go to waste if you didn't, and it would be all your fault."

May pouted. "You can't guilt me like that. That's not fair!"

"Oh, well. Guess I'll miss the train."

May moaned and grabbed Misty's hand in hers, squeezing it tight as she whipped out her phone. Misty winced, flexing her fingers in May's grip, which was surprisingly strong. It didn't loosen as May dialed the phone, and only tightened as she lifted the phone to her ear and heard it ring. Finally, Drew answered, and, in a rush, May blurted, "Drew. Hey. Uh. Hey. Right. Do you want to…maybe, okay. Go out with me. Sunday."

Misty heard his smug voice through the speakers. "You're not supposed to do this on the phone, May. You're supposed to do it in person, treat me like a lady."

"Oh, shut up," May snapped. Misty covered her mouth with her free hand, struggling not to giggle. "I'm actually asking you out! Can't you cut me some slack?"

"That doesn't sound nearly so fun."

"Drew, my best is going to go to her hometown with a hot guy to find eternal happiness. Dawn's maybe kind of dating Kenny? I don't know. Even if she's not, she can get anyone she wants. I'm not that close to anyone else, and half of my other friends have dates anyway. Everyone's got the courage to ask someone out or got asked out and I feel like an idiot just…just go out with me. Could you just not be a jerk for once and go out with me on Sunday? For once in your life, don't be a jerk for once."

He sighed, long and drawn out, as if it pained him to say it. "Sure. Why not? I'll even pay."

She giggled getting up to her tiptoes with glee. She finally released Misty's hand, and the girl snatched it back, rubbing feeling back into the sore digits. "You know, I shouldn't like you as much as I do! I can't believe you made me do all this to asked you out but I'm just so happy. You're such a jerk!"

"Hey, we all know who's getting the short end of the stick."

She still had half a smile as she scolded him, "Drew! I asked you not to be a jerk."

"You asked me not to be a jerk for once." He chuckled. "And I was. Once. Never again. See you Sunday."

He hung up on her, and May hugged Misty with yet another squeal. "I finally did it Misty. We're going out. I think we're technically a couple now."

"I think you need more than one date for that."

"Don't ruin this," May said firmly, squeezing her tightly one last time before letting her go and stepping back. "Alright, well, you know I'll always have my phone on if you ever need me. And, hey, I pulled it off. If I pulled it off, there's no way you can't. You're a coward sometimes, Misty, but you can be really brave too. You can be brave about this. You can get it done. Just…just take a deep breath and get on that train and do your best to have a good time. I promise you, Misty, if I could ask out Drew, you could do this."

"Thanks, May." She gave her one last hug, and walked past her, into the taxi that had pulled up alongside the dorm, and drove away to the train station.

* * *

Ash was already there when she arrived. She was surprised that he only had his backpack, then remembered that Ash wanted to be a travelling trainer, at least for a while. She supposed he would have to know how to pack pretty well if he wanted to do that. They said brief hellos, and got on the train without anything else. They made their way to the back, going further and further as the cars emptied out, until they got to the very back of the train. They sat down next to each other, putting their bags on the seat on the row across from them, planning on moving them if anyone else showed up. No one did.

The first half hour passed in silence. Neither of them really had anything to say, and there wasn't anything to point out in the train - no other people, no exciting scenery yet. Both of them had their headphones in, Misty listening to some soothing instrumental music from her favorite movies, and Ash listening to rock music loud enough that Misty could hear it through her own headset. She could only take it for so long before she had to reach over and snatch it from his hands, lowering the volume to an acceptable level.

He stuck his tongue out at her, reaching back to raise the volume again. Both to save his hear and save herself from the annoyance, she cut him off, saying the first thing that popped to mind: "Dawn said a lot of people make out on trains. I think that's a lie."

Ash nodded, agreeing, "It's really public. It'd be embarrassing."

"Yeah, because you don't do anything embarrassing," she muttered.

He scowled. "Like what?"

"Kissing me like a crazy person."

"I didn't! Why are you so…" He frowned, searching for the word. "So _conservative_."

Her eyes widened, and wanted to hit him for it, but Pikachu was curled up in her lap, and she didn't want to move and disturb her. Her voice was furious, but her hand stayed even as she continued to scratch Pikachu behind the ears. "I taught you that word! You can't use words I taught you against me!"

"You taught me it so I could use it," he argued. "And it fits, too! It's not like we slept together, or I ripped all your clothes off or something. You're acting like we did something completely crazy, but we didn't. Most people kiss. It happens all the time with people of all ages. People younger than us kiss. Kissing it perfectly normal for people our age. We just kissed."

She shook her head, red creeping up her cheeks. "It wasn't just a kiss!"

"I didn't touch anything I wasn't supposed to!" he said. "It was only a kiss."

"I've kissed people before! That was way more than a kiss!"

"Well, if you're so embarrassed, maybe you should have kept your tongue _in your own mouth_." They both blushed at that, and looked away from each other. Misty looked out her window, and Ash glared into the aisle. It only lasted a few minutes before a grin began to creep over his face. He turned back poking her lightly on the arm. "You never got all freaked out when Gary kissed you, and you kissed Gary way more than me. Am I a better kisser?"

"Well." She brushed the hair out of her face and chewed on her lower lip for a bit. "Maybe. Gary never kissed me like _that_."

"Like what?" He poked her again.

"Like there was something more than kissing to do!" she cried, exasperated. "You kissed me like we weren't just going to kiss and go home. You kissed me like you wanted to do a lot more than kissing, an Gary never did that. And I'm freaking out a little. It was scary, okay? I like being in control-"

"Oh, really?" he said casually. "I never would have guessed."

She growled at him. "Shut up. I don't like being out of control. I don't like looking back on that moment and realizing I was really close to making a bad decision."

"Like robbing a liquor store?" he suggested, still grinning that annoying, teasing grin that made her want to punch him in the face.

"You know what I mean, you ass."

"Nope. I don't have any idea." He poked her a few more times, until she slapped his hand away as gently as she could to keep from disturbing Pikachu. She failed, and the mouse glared up at her grumpily. "If you want me to know what yu mean so we don't have to talk about it anymore you're gonna have to say it."

She grit her teeth. "Fine. I wanted to have sex with you. Jerk."

He beamed. "Me too. This trip's going to be fun!"

"This isn't going to be fun!" she snapped. "This is going to be terrible. Because we cannot have sex. I mean that in every sense of the word. I don't want to have sex. I'm not ready for that. I'm not ready for freaking out about babies and I can't remember to take a pill every day and I don't even know if I really want to see a guy naked. Just because I want to doesn't mean I want to! So we're not doing it. We're not having sex. It's not happening, and if you think it is, you can just jump off the train."

He looked at her curiously. "You know, just because we like each other doesn't mean we have to have sex."

She blinked. "Sorry?"

"I mean, you're acting like because you're all turned on with me that means we have to have sex if we're together, but it doesn't. It's not like I'm gonna make you. I don't even know if I'm ready for it. I can't even vote yet. I don't know if I'm ready for something that could end up with an accidental baby. My mom would never say it, but I know I wasn't on purpose and I messed some stuff up. She loves me and everything, but I know she gave up a lot when she had me. Plus, sex is just kind of scary."

"So…you're not…?" She swallowed, and she wasn't sure what exactly she was asking.

Ash shrugged. "I like you. I want to be with you. I kiss like you I want to do more than kissing, but that doesn't mean I want to do it right now. Guys aren't really…you know that we're not really like that, right? We're not all just ready for sex all the time, or willing to have sex at the drop of a hat, just like how there are girls like your sisters who have sex with guys really easy. And…and I bet every guy gets nervous about this kind of stuff. Especially if they haven't done it before."

She ducked her head. "I may…have thought that guys only think with their downstairs head."

"Well, we don't. And you can talk to me. And you don't have to be scared." He kissed her on the cheek, softly, and didn't run away this time.

She leaned her head on his shoulder.

* * *

So, either one or two more chapters left depending on how the writing of the next bit goes. You ready?


	24. End

This the last chapter. No jokes, guys, I've finished it. I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

The train let them off, and they calmly strode down the road together in silence. Ash's backpack looked light on his back, and Misty gave him one or two envious glances as her heavy suitcase rumbled over the concrete and gravel and dirt as they made their way to the Cerulean Gym. As they got closer, Misty took the time to explain the housing. The gym had a rather large basement, where her and her sisters lived. Their parents had left them a house, but the gym was big enough that they didn't bother keeping it running - mostly using it for storage. They didn't have any kind of guest bedroom for him, so Ash would be sleeping on the couch. He didn't seem too upset about it, but she was very insistent that the couch was perfectly comfortable and he wouldn't have any trouble sleeping.

Of course, she eventually had to cover the topic that worried her the most. There were no parents he had to meet, but there were three very over the top sisters who were eager to meet him. "Ash, uh, you know my sisters are…" Misty trailed off awkwardly, biting her lip.

He looked at her curiously. "All I know about your sisters is what I heard from Gary and some of the other guys. So, I know they slept around and they were hot, but that's it. Is there something else I should know? Are they like Melody and going to force kiss me or something like that?"

She shook her head, smiling a little. "No, nothing like that. They aren't that bad. I mean, they'll probably hit on you. They're just…they're flirty and girly. They can be pretty mean, but they're usually joking about it. They're not like me, and that makes us fight a lot. I'm not really…I'm not the best person around them. So I hope you don't hate me if I show my nastier side. They just tease me and goad me into it so I'll fight with them. They do it on purpose, Ash, I'm not always that bad. They just know how to push all my buttons and-"

He cut her off, laughing. "Misty, do you even _remember _how you were when we first hung out together? You made fun of me and we always fought and you called me all kinds of mean names. I'm pretty sure however you are with your sisters can't be any worse than that." He bumped her playfully, and she smiled back.

Misty led him inside, and the heavy smell of brine immediately hit her nose. She smiled, breathing the smell in deep. Her school had a tank as well, but it was nowhere near as large as theirs. The school didn't have several tanks in the back, either, and her filter's motor had a much deeper purr. There was the comforting sound of water slapping against the glass and the echo of their footsteps as they walked forward through the massive arena. She looked at Ash, biting her lip once again, but her nerves were gone almost instantly. Ash was awed by the place, as was Pikachu, craning their heads back to look at the diving board, spinning around to get a feel for how big it was. He smiled at her, and she felt a blush rise up in her cheeks.

"Misty, this is absolutely amazing. I can't believe you live here! This is almost as amazing as professor Oak's ranch." He grinned tauntingly. "I mean, Pallet is obviously a million times better, but if I had to choose a second place to grow up, I think I'd choose this. You're so lucky."

"Thanks. I know it." She winked at him.

There wasn't much time to enjoy the moment, as they were almost immediately ambushed by the three Sensational Sisters, Violet darting over the high heel shoes so quick Misty barely had time to shout a warning about wet surfaces before the girl had made it to Ash, catching his chin and tilting it up to gawk at him, giggling all the while. "You're the boy? Oh, you're just adorable! You're so _cute! _Misty didn't say you were _cute_. I never thought she could get anyone like you. Well, I never thought she'd go after a guy. You know, I always thought she was gay - not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Violet!" Misty snapped.

"Don't sound so grumpy. It's not an insult. I was the only one who thought it, anyway." She beamed as the other two sisters made it over, moving much more carefully over the slick surface. A few water pokémon peeked out from the tank to see the commotion. "Have you two seen him? This is the boy Misty brought home! And he's cute! Can you believe how cute he is? Look at him! Have you _seen _him?"

Daisy laughed, a perfectly manicured hand covering her mouth. "Yes, Vi, we saw him. He's very cute."

"Oh, I could just _kiss _him," she said, her eyes dancing as Misty began to flush with anger.

"Would you keep away from him?" Misty growled. "You're crowding him. Look, he's blushing. Leave him alone."

"Don't worry. I won't steal him." She winked. "I like you, though. I'd be happy to have you around. I bet a cute boy like you can act."

"Dammit, Violet, don't you dare. I don't need your help with my relationship. You're not playing matchmaker. You crawl back into your little romance hole." She crossed her arms. Her sisters all had the habit of matching her up with people. Plenty of boys had wandered through the gym, perfectly innocent to any kind of romance, hoping to challenge the gym, and the older girls had tugged out Misty and spent far too much time trying to get the two to flirt, and telling them how cute of a couple they would be together. Violet had always been the worst of the three. "He can't act, and there's no way he wants to be in a play."

He shrugged, stepping back. "I wouldn't mind, I guess. As long as I don't have to remember a lot of lines or anything, right?"

"Oh, no!" Lily stepped in now, beaming. "You won't have many lines. We can make it so you don't have to say anything at all. You just have to fake die! Will you do it? It'll be fun, we promise."

"It's a trap, Ash."

"What could they be trapping me in?" He snorted.

"Shake on it," Violet demanded. "You're really important even if you don't say anything."

"I promise I won't back out, okay?"

He shook, rolling his eyes at the whole thing. Unfortunately, when he went to pull away, he discovered that both of Violet's hands were tight on his. He had a moment to look confused before the girl was speaking, all in a rush, "Alright, but you have to make out with Misty! No taksies backsies!" then squealed with delight, leaping away from him and clapping her hands from a few feet away. Misty was fuming, her fists clenched at her sides, and Ash looked back and forth between the two, already baffled just a few minutes into his visit.

"Violet! What are you, _five_?" she said, exasperated. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"Haha! You have to make out with your not-boyfriend!" she taunted, and stuck her tongue out.

"Kissing shouldn't be a punishment!"

"Wouldn't be a punishment for me," Violet agreed, her eyes running over the blushing boy again.

"Violet!"

But the girl was gone, rushed away to somewhere in the back, most likely to play around with her script now that she had an actor in mind. Lily and Daisy, both still smiling, led Ash down to the couch he would be staying on. They'd taken the time to wrap the couch up in sheets, and put a stack of thin blankets on top, since they hadn't had any spare comforters. They apologized for the lack of extra pillows, but the decorative pillows were more than enough for him. He had spent more than one occasion with nothing more than a rolled up sweatshirt for a pillow, and he had been happy with that too. They seemed relieved.

Misty sat on the couch with him as they settled in, the television volume turned down low as her sisters had all gone to bed, though Daisy had been sure to take the time to explain to both of them that she better not wake up in the morning to find them sharing the couch, and that she better not wake up in the middle of the night thanks to any mysterious sounds. Both Ash and Misty had rolled their eyes with a blush, and not long after they had turned on a stupid made-for-TV movie and Misty had brought out a bowl of popcorn.

"I thought they'd be a lot worse," Ash said, tossing some more kernels into his mouth.

She shrugged. "They're annoying, sure, but they're not terrible. I probably built them up more than I needed too. I don't know, I guess it's just kind of a big thing. I don't take people home that often. And this is the first time that I…well, I don't know if it really counts, but it's the first time I ever brought a boy home. I've never had a lot of friends, and even fewer who were boys, and you already know that Gary was basically my only boyfriend. He never came home, and I was never close enough with the others to bring them home so…you're the first. Congrats, I guess."

"I am a boy, even if I'm not your boyfriend."

She swallowed. "Are you really going to do this now?"

"I'm not doing anything. I'm just enjoying the movie. It's your first night back." He leaned back calmly, shoving another mouthful of popcorn in his mouth. "Actually, that's a little bit of a lie. I have no idea what's going on in this movie. It's been really boring, so I've just been going over battle strategies in my head. Do you know what's going on?"

She looked at him for a minute, then smiled and leaned back against him - thigh to thigh, shoulder to shoulder. "Yeah, I know what's happening. I'll explain."

* * *

They started the play the next day. The first half of rehearsal was easy enough for Misty. She had the script memorized, so she got up early and strode onto the stage that was the currently covered tank, and delivered her lines merrily enough with the few other people they had called in. Ash was asleep downstairs, apparently able to snore through drama geeks and their fake gunshots, so she was able to pull off the part of a mobster's girlfriend perfectly. Ash was the mobster, but he really didn't have any other part but to die. He didn't have to say a single line, which was probably for the best considering they had no idea what his acting ability was.

Of course, around noon he finally tumbled out of bed, hair a wild mess and looking surprisingly good in his black t-shirt and jeans. Violet whistled as he came in, and he blinked sleepily, his gaze focused on their lunch break sandwiches. He beamed at Misty, who instantly blushed. "Can I have one?"

"Sure," she said, taking him by the hand and leading him away from the eager eyes of Violet's theater friends. "We've got all kinds of stuff, whatever you want. What kind of sandwich do you like?"

"Ham. What's up with you and shorts? Do you sleep in those shorts?" He tugged at the belt loop of them, and she slapped his hand away. "All you ever wear is jean shorts. Your sisters has loads of clothes. You can borrow some of theirs. I bet they have lots of shorts that aren't jean shorts if you only like shorts."

She rolled her eyes. "Are you always this chatty in the morning?"

"Did I manage to wake up early for it to be morning?" he asked, sounding excited. "I never do that."

"It's twelve."

"Not bad for a vacation day." She had handed him one of the premade sandwiches from the rather large stack, and he grabbed a couple more.

"How much do you eat?"

"Awot," he said around a mouthful of ham.

After the first sandwich, he looked much more awake, taking the time to finger comb his hair back into a proper position. By the second, she was unhappy to discover he was awake enough for Violet to discuss his role, and all too eager to sit in as they continued their rehearsal. Violet was quick to point of that Misty was stiff and nervous, and it took about an hour of having Ash there before she was able to relax and get back into character. Soon enough, Violet was focusing on everyone else, and Misty was going through the play without too much trouble.

After a few hours, most everyone went home, and Violet dragged Ash onstage. For awhile, Misty enjoyed seeing Ash on the other end of it. Her sister made him lay still for twenty minutes, ordering him to slow his breathing, making sure he didn't fall asleep, and stopping all the little twitches and movements that the body tended to do without the person noticing. Of course, once she was satisfied, Misty's fun was ruined when she was dragged onstage and ordered to deliver her lines. Ash sat up slightly, looking curious.

"Do I just keep playing dead?"

"Well, you're dying," Misty said shortly. "So, yes."

"She's going to kiss you. You're dying. Try to put a bit of passion behind it, could you?" Violet added.

Misty rolled her eyes, but as soon as Ash went back to playing dead, she gave him a quick peck on the lips, pulling away to start delivering her lines.

"No. Nuh-uh. I don't care what you guys are denying or whatever. This is a show. From what I heard you two managed to get together pretty hot. At the very least, you two are friends, right? Ash, kiss her like you'll never see her again. Misty, he's dying. Kiss Ash like he just got hit by a bullet, alright? I want to see passion. Do it again."

Ash sighed and pushed up so Misty could hold his head in her lap, then went appropriately dead-limp. Misty forced tears to her eyes by thinking of cute dead things, and whispered, "Please, please don't leave me. I know I haven't been there, I know you haven't been there, but we should get a second chance. We can make the second chance work but you have to_ be_ there for it. Don't leave me. _Please_."

Then she tried to do what Violet said, thinking of him dying. It was shockingly easy. The images came to her quickly. He's dead. He's falling over a cliff, getting shot at, bloody and beaten, turned to stone. You'll never kiss him again. She was surprised that tears sprung fresh to her eyes. So she kissed him for the last time, eyes closed and lips desperate on his, and he pressed back and flooded her with warmth. She'd gotten the feeling from Gary, but not to the tips of her toes, not warming her from the outside in and back out again. And after he said her goodbye to the dead Ash in her mind, she pulled away and continued her line.

That was all Violet was after.

* * *

It worked for several days. It worked for several times each of those several days as they ran through the play again and again. Misty was used to rehearsals, and where Violet and many of her friends found it tiring but fun and well worth it, Misty found it unbearably exhausting. She had been in several of Violet's plays, as she was not the best actress in the world but she was good enough that people were willing to pay to see her, and every single one of them made her practice so much she felt like tearing her head out by the time opening night finally came around.

This, however, was swiftly becoming unbearable. Misty tended not to think too much about her loved ones dying. She had seen death plenty before, had felt the impact of it from both the passing of her father and her mother. Part of it was because thinking about it was far too worrying, her sisters managed a water gym and spent plenty of their time with dangerous water pokémon who could send an errant wave of water or fin their way and leave them spinning, unconscious, floating to the bottom of the pool. Misty had been told often enough to be careful, that she dealt with plenty of dangers of her own with some of her more terrifying pokémon, and that her sisters would be absolutely devastated if she ever died.

But every day, several times a day, she forced the image of a dying Ash into her mind - so many of them so unbelievably vivid they felt like memories instead of ideas. Maybe it was that she grew up far too much around water, had seen far too many trainer's with the touch of blue around their lips as one of her sisters or a medical professional pumped life back into them. She'd felt a few ribs crack under her fingers as well, felt the sticky, icy horror of dying lips against her own. Putting Ash in the same place was effortless. And it was terrifying. It was painful.

She found Ash after one of the rehearsals, bringing him a plate of mashed potatoes with a piece of chicken along the side. Ash took it eagerly, digging into dinner and setting his textbooks aside. Misty watched him for a bit, her stomach growling to signal that she needed food, though she didn't feel hungry in the slightest. The thought of eating anything actually made her nauseous, and the smell of the food was almost more than she could bear.

He looked at her curiously. "So, what's wrong? You've been looking worse and worse the past couple of days."

"Ash, I don't think I can do this," she said quickly, ignoring how she could have easily taken offense at her looking worse than usual. Still, he was looking at her patiently, so she continued on: "I can't kiss you every day and pretend you're dying to get the right passion for Violet's stupid play. All I can think about is how next year I'll be in the gym and you'll be traveling and so many travelers die and…and…it'd be so easy for you to be one of them, Ash. So many of them just make one stupid mistake and they're gone, and you've made a lot more than one stupid mistake in the time I've known you, Ash."

He shrugged, tickling Pikachu under her chin. "I'll have Brock. He'll keep me from getting the crap beat out of me. Pikachu too."

"I want to be there," she whispered weakly. "Isn't that stupid? I want to travel with you."

He cocked his head to the side. "It might be giving up the League, you know. I mean, there's a chance that the job'll still be there when you come back. Lorelei's not exactly in a rush to retire and find a replacement, but someone else could come along, someone as good as you, and she's not going to push that person away just because you want a back-up plan."

"I know, and I'd be really happy, too." She pressed the heel of her hand to her head and groaned "I want to see the world, and I'd be really happy to do it with you and Brock. I've gotten really close to you. I can't…I can't think of anything I'd like more than traveling, but it's so stupid. I can't believe I'm even thinking of it."

He laughed, mixing his potatoes with the gravy pooling on the plate. "Okay, you can stop buttering me up. You can come. You know all you ever had to do was ask."

"Ash, I _can't_!" she snapped.

"Sure you can. Why not?"

"I have all my future stuff to think about," she said. "Going with you would mean that I'd have to give up all the stuff I'm supposed to do so I can be rich and famous and crap."

"Yeah, but I thought you said you wanted to travel _more_ than you want that stuff."

"I do, but-"

"No buts." He shook his head. "Just be like me and follow what you know will make you happy."

She rolled her eyes. "Ash, that's so juvenile."

"Yes. It is." He blinked. "What's juvenile mean?"

"Childish."

He grinned. "Maybe, but it's not like I'm telling you to do something crazy. There's loads of professional trainers, and even if there weren't, you've still got a Gym in your family. If it all goes wrong, you can come back to this. Maybe you won't be rich and famous, but if you don't care about being rich and famous, what's it matter? We're all about following our dreams nowadays. We can choose our jobs, we can choose whether or not to have kids, we can choose who we have those kids with. It's not the same world it used to be, Mist."

"And who told you that?"

"My mother, after May Oak tried to propose to me. We'd been making out for a while, and out of nowhere she started trying to get me to marry her, telling me all the reasons it was the right thing to do, and how my mom could have a way better life. My mom took me aside and said that she was happy just the way she was, and I could make up my own mind. If I wanted money, I could work towards that. If I wanted to be famous, that was okay too. She said I needed to do what made me happy, and that all I had to keep in mind was that it's really hard to be happy when you don't have any money at all."

She rested her face in her hands. "I'll think about it, but it doesn't really help my problem about you dying, Ash."

"Maybe you could just think about me getting beat up real bad instead of dying. Can you handle that?"

She smiled. "I'll give it a shot."

* * *

She sighed, whipping off her wig and collapsing onto the couch next to him. Her entire body was soaked in sweat from the hot stage lamps. She ached from going through the same motions, over and over again, for the past couple days. She was sick of staring into the lights and seeing a black, moving blob that occasionally laughed, gasped, or shifted suddenly and greeted her with the thunder and flesh slapping together as they applauded. But the wig was off, now, and it was cool in the basement. It was far better than being upstairs, that was for sure. She groaned, rubbing her hands over her eyes that were still spotty, and muttered, "Mew, that was so stupid."

A weight fell next to her on the couch, and she couldn't help but smile. Ash had been on the stage far less than her, but he smelled of sweat too. At least she wasn't alone in that, and she doubted he would dare make fun of her when he had sweat so much too. She was right, because he ruffled her hair and said sweetly, "You did good, Mist."

"I did _well_," she corrected, knowing full well she made the mistake herself all the time and was being completely hypocritical. She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her, and she was happy she had decided to throw her legs over the arm of the couch so he had enough room to fit with her. "And, yeah, I did, but it was stupid. I hate getting up on the stage and having to be a dork in front of people. Especially when I have to play someone stupid. Or make out with someone I have to pretend is dead."

"You'd rather be a dork in front of your friends, huh?" he said, tweaking her nose.

"Stop." She slapped his hand away, then caught it, lacing her fingers through his and smiling as the color began to rise in his cheeks. "You know what I mean, Ketchum. I hate doing this. My sisters love the stage and the spotlight. They love singing and dancing for people. They love attention. But, then again, you'd know all about that, huh? I bet this was a big ball of fun for you, wasn't it?"

"I got to die." He laughed. "You don't get to dramatically die every day. If you're really lucky, I think you get to die dramatically once in your life. I mean, it's not too often anything really bad happens. No one gets to save the world once a year, right? If you get the chance to dramatically die and kiss a hot girl, you have to have fun with that."

"Kiss a hot girl," she said, rolling her eyes. "I guess. Glad you had fun even if I didn't."

"You looked…" His hand squeezed hers tightly. "You looked really pretty up there tonight. I meant that I got to kiss a hot girl. And I meant that you did well. And I meant that you looked really pretty."

"It's the dress." She tugged gently on the long, black garment that had made her so terribly hot. She absently realized that the ankle length dress was pooled around her thighs, but she supposed it wasn't any higher up than her shorts had been, so she didn't bother going through the awkward tugging and shifting to fix it. "Lily made the dress. She does amazing stuff. She said that she made it especially for me, she tailored it so it fit perfect. That's why it looks so good. You should see the rest of my sisters when they're all dolled up like this. They'd blow me out of the water."

"Maybe," he said, shrugging. "But I don't really like them. Not like I like you, I mean. I think your sisters are nice and all but…but that wasn't even what I meant when I said you were pretty. I was talking about really dramatic stuff. You looked pretty when you were acting. You're really, really good at it. It looked like you meant it."

She laughed. "I'm supposed to, stupid. That's the point of acting."

He looked at her, and the air was suddenly thick and tense. "Misty, I know this is kind of sudden, and I guess it's kind of coming out of nowhere, but we've been pretending to kiss for a while now. It's not even pretending to kiss. It's real kissing, and it really means something, but we act like it doesn't mean something, and then we have to act like it means something else and that's just really confusing. So, can we kiss for real? Because I'd really like to kiss you, if you're okay with that. I'd really like to kiss you for a long time."

She couldn't help it, staring up into his face and seeing him look so nervous and confused, giggles bubbled out of her mouth as she struggled to rein them in. After a few seconds of him looking even more confused, she laughed a bit and asked, "Do you want to get married? Kiss me for a long time. Are we just going to sit on this couch and make out until we die? _Moltres_, Ash, you idiot, what is that supposed to mean? Kiss for a long time. You really are an idiot. I can't believe you, Ash, I really can't."

He blushed. "So, is that a no?"

"Like I said, Ash, you really are an idiot."

Being far too tired to lean up, she grabbed him by his tie and tugged him down. It was a weird angle for him, she knew, because she had been kissing him in the same position - sitting down with her body all bent over so she could catch her lips with his. The angle was weird, though, because he hadn't bothered to turn his head so their heads were ninety degrees from each other. She was already starting to warm up when he pulled back, half laughing, and she laughed as well. He turned, though, laying next to her on the couch, and that kiss was much better.

The kissed for a long time.

* * *

Ash was woken up early in the morning by a rain of boxes on his head. He yelped, desperately shoving them off and him and looking around baffled. Pikachu was giggling at him from a few feet away, and the oldest Sensational Sister was glaring down at him, arms crossed. He stared at her, trying to think what he could have possibly done to make her angry, and wondered if she somehow knew that Misty had taken off her bra for him the night before. Daisy did seem to be fairly psychic about everything else, maybe she had magical psychic second base sensing powers.

He picked up one of the boxes, frowning curiously. "Condoms."

"They're for sex," Daisy explained calmly.

"I know." He picked up a few more boxes. "It's like someone burst open a pinata. There's so many kinds."

"Different sizes, mostly. You should figure that out. There's also a couple different materials, in case you have a latex allergy. Do me a quick favor and see which size fits best, won't you, Ash?"

He blushed, looking uncomfortably at the boxes. "But, uh, won't you know what, uh, si-"

"You don't have to tell me which size fits. Just figure it out." She handed him a pamphlet. "This is how you use one properly. Read it from beginning to end. No diseases, no babies, that's all I'm asking. You're both old enough that I can't really stop you from having sex, and it'd make me a hypocrite to even try."

He took a few boxes, and started making his way towards the bathroom, but she grabbed his arm. "Ash, be safe. Not just with sex, but, you know…with everything. Please."

"Of course." He smiled, just slightly awkwardly.

* * *

"Your sister threw condoms at me," Ash complained, striding into the main pool room.

Misty swam up to the edge with a grin, resting her arms on the edge and looking up at him from under the bangs that were stuck to her face with brine. She pushed it back, letting it stick to her cheeks instead of her forehead. "I told you she'd do something like that. I'm just relieved she didn't take us to the store to pick them out. She gave me a bunch of condoms to put in my nightstand too. She caught us kissing last night and didn't say anything. She said she didn't think we'd have sex on the couch when anyone could walk in."

"How much did she see?"

"Enough." She shrugged.

He held out his hand to hoist her out, and she let him, letting herself be easily tugged out of the water and onto the rubber siding, laughing at her feet touched the edge. She giggled, "Ooh, strong" but didn't get out much more than that, because he immediately pressed her to him, kissing her despite the fact that he was fully clothed and the water was soaking into his clothes. She smiled into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. He grinned after a few seconds, pulling away just enough so their mouths weren't touching.

"Sorry about that, you're just all wet and in a bathing suit and…well, I just really wanted to kiss you." He cocked his head to the side like a confused growlithe. "Is that okay? I've never done this kind of stuff before. Can I just…kiss you whenever now?"

"I don't mind." She kissed his nose with a smile. "Besides, I sort of think we're dating now. If we're dating, I think it might be pretty convenient to have a rule that says we can kiss each other whenever unless the other person says no. I'm pretty sure most couples have that rule, the kissing whenever rule."

"And I guess we're a couple now," he said thoughtfully, frowning slightly. "Hey, Mist, what you said about traveling before…did you mean it? You really want to come travelling with me when we graduate? I mean, there's nothing left in school. It's a couple weeks of finals and then…then we're done, Mist. Travelling would literally be just a couple weeks away. Are you ready for that?"

She nodded seriously, then led him over to the bleachers, tugging him down next to her. "Of course I did. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it. I'd love traveling with you and Brock. And, if anything, I should be asking you that. I'm the one who overthinks and overanalyzes an over everything. I've thought this through backwords and forwards, Ash, and this is really what I want to do. I want to travel, and I know that means there's a big chance that the league job won't be here when I come back, but I don't mind. I'm not even sure if working for the League is something I'll ever enjoy."

"I know all that. But we're a couple now, Mist. I don't want any of this to mess up for either of us." He grabbed her hand and squeezed. "I mean, if this really doesn't work out - I think it will but, you know, if it doesn't - do you think we could still manage to travel together without wanting to rip each other's throats out? This is going to be at least two or three years of both our lives, and the last thing I want is for either of us to be miserable. I want you there, and I think we'll be okay, but if you-"

She laughed, cutting him off. "Calm down, Ash. You're starting to ramble now. I think we'll be fine. I don't want to suck your face off all the time, and we've been fighting since day one. We know how to apologize. And Brock being around will ensure that we…we don't need condoms." She cleared her throat awkwardly, both of them blushing lightly. "And, if we break up, I don't think it'll be that big of a problem. You know, unless one of us did something really bad to the other. But if we can't, I'll go on my own. I don't mind, and I'm pretty sure I'll be able to find myself a friend. If I can't, I still have my gym to come home to."

"I hope that doesn't happen. I think that Brock n' me will have more fun when you're there," he said.

"Well, I love hanging out with you two." She bumped him playfully. "And, as much as I like being alone with you, I think I'll have even more fun with Brock there. I can only take so much of you before I go completely insane."

"You'll come up with me then, right?"

"You know, Ketchum, I'm getting pretty sick of repeating myself.

But she said it with a raise eyebrow and a smile playing around her lips, and he was too happy to be witty. Instead, he laughed and covered her lips with his, tugging her close until she was in his lap, legs wrapped around his waist and the uncomfortable feeling of salt water seeping into his clothes barely present as her fingers went under his shirt, scratching at the lean muscles along his back. He gave her one, deep, forceful kiss, before pulling back, resting his forehead against hers and wishing they had started the conversation somewhere more private. She was smiling at him, breathing hard, and he allowed himself to feel a little bit of pride that he had managed to get her so breathless from a little bit of kissing, not realizing she was thinking nearly the same thing about him.

Her hands cupped his face teasingly, and she gave him a wicked smile. "'Sides, I have to keep an eye on you anyway. You still owe me a bike."

* * *

So, let's cover the bases real quick: No epilogue, no sequels, nothing pertaining to this universe. Yes, I also agree that I'm whatever names you want to call me. Of course, this story was horrible, I'll kill myself right away. No, I will not write you a sex scene.

I always love constructive criticism. I know this ending won't be what everyone wanted. If there's something you wanted and this didn't have, tell me! I can't improve if I don't know what's missing. I have no life, so I'm very eager to respond to messages - the longer the better! I'm a very lonely, sad person.

All that being said, I genuinely hope you enjoyed this. Thank you for reading and reviewing, as always. I would never have finished this if it wasn't for readers telling me how much they enjoyed it. Hey, this story never would have come to be if I didn't get so many requests! So, thank you very much. I appreciate every last one of you.

Sincerely,

Bittersweet Romanticide


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